granulate

American  

[gran-yuh-layt] / ˈgræn jəˌleɪt /

verb (used with object)

granulated, granulating

1. to form into granules or grains.

2. to raise in granules; make rough on the surface.

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verb (used without object)

granulated, granulating

1. to become granular or grainy.

2. Pathology. to form granulation tissue.

granulate British  

/ ˈɡrænjʊˌleɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to make into grains

2. to make or become roughened in surface texture

3. (intr) (of a wound, ulcer, etc) to form granulation tissue

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Other Word Forms

• granulater
  noun
• granulator
  noun
• granulative
  adjective
• multigranulated
  adjective
• nongranulated
  adjective
• ungranulated
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of granulate

First recorded in 1660–70; granule + -ate ¹

Explanation

Granulate means to form or reduce into grains. You've probably seen the word on a box of granulated sugar and not thought twice about the fact that, besides its granular form, sugar exists as a liquid and also inside sugar cane. Sugar, of course, is not a grain. A grain is rice, wheat, quinoa, corn––seeds that form the basis of most people's diets. Sugar forms grains when it's refined, appearing in its crystallized form to have a grain-like, or granulated, appearance.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

granulate granulated granulating

Meanwhile, Enviroo recently secured £58m to build a new recycling facility in the north-west of England, specialising in converting PET drink bottles into a recycled granulate that can be used in food packaging.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2025

And if honey does granulate it is still perfectly fine to eat.

From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2023

For well owners receiving Army assistance, the long-term plans for the taxpayer-financed cleanup range from installing granulate activated filtration systems to drilling deeper wells that could tap into PFAS-free water.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 23, 2022

For the A3, 45 bottles are used, ground up to create a granulate that is turned into a polyester yarn, accounting for 89 percent of the seat material.

From New York Times ● Sep. 9, 2021

It is then deposited on great wooden tables to cool, and granulate into complete crystals of about the size of a pin's head.

From Celebrated Women Travellers of the Nineteenth Century by W. H. Davenport Adams

My House Spice, which I use on pretty much everything, is my mother’s recipe, a Creole and Cajun spice blend with salt, pepper, granulated onion and garlic, cayenne and paprika.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

I use a frother, and a little bit of granulated monk fruit sugar on top.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2025

"The pretence is that baled tyres are being sent to India and then shredded and granulated in a factory very similar to ours," explains Mr Mason.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2025

Candied fruit – sometimes known as crystallized fruit – is fruit that's been cut into small pieces, boiled in sugar syrup, tossed in granulated sugar and allowed to dry.

From Salon ● Dec. 17, 2024

One oonful of this is more economical and far more sweetening than two of ordinary granulated Sugar.

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson

The hydraulic press, consequently was only used to compress the powder dust into thin cakes, which were sent to the granulating department to be used for fine grain powder only.

From History of the Confederate Powder Works by George Washington Rains

In the manufacture of smokeless powders from nitro-cellulose, nitro-lignine, &c., the various substances are mixed with the gun-cotton or collodion-cotton before granulating.

From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford

It is difficult, if not impossible, to so conduct them as to avoid opening up afresh recent granulating wounds.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

It is made by granulating blast furnace slag of suitable composition and finely grinding the product, either alone or with an admixture of about 10% of Portland cement clinker.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6 "Celtes, Konrad" to "Ceramics" by Various

On the baconlike cut surface suppurative areas and granulating sores may be noticed of various sizes, also enlarged lymph vessels filled with clotted lymph mixed with pus.

From Special Report on Diseases of the Horse by Charles B. Michener