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

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Etymology

Origin of granulate

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

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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 did granulate, and the first product sold for twelve thousand dollars—a large sum at that time.

From Historic Papers on the Causes of the Civil War by Eugenia Dunlap Potts

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 pie's filling consists of sliced rhubarb and strawberries cooked in granulated sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg, and a pinch of fine sea salt.

From Salon ● May 23, 2025

Surprisingly, sugar -- the white, granulated kind found in nearly every household -- served as an inexpensive, convenient source of carbon atoms.

From Science Daily ● May 2, 2024

Back then the only things Mama purchased from the store were coffee beans, granulated sugar, salt, and pepper.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Reverdin's method consists in planting out pieces of skin not bigger than a pin-head over a granulating surface.

From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Alexis Thomson

After granulating or pressing into shapes, all powders must be dried.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 6 "Groups, Theory of" to "Gwyniad" 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

The separate muscular layers were sharply defined in the lateral parts of the floor of the wound, and remained so for some time during the gradual contraction of the large granulating surface produced.

From Surgical Experiences in South Africa, 1899-1900 Being Mainly a Clinical Study of the Nature and Effects of Injuries Produced by Bullets of Small Calibre by George Henry Makins

The wound was open and granulating, the floor pulsating freely.

From Surgical Experiences in South Africa, 1899-1900 Being Mainly a Clinical Study of the Nature and Effects of Injuries Produced by Bullets of Small Calibre by George Henry Makins

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