macerate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to soften or separate into parts by steeping in a liquid.
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to soften or decompose (food) by the action of a solvent.
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to cause to grow thin.
verb (used without object)
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to undergo maceration.
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to become thin or emaciated; waste away.
verb
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to soften or separate or be softened or separated as a result of soaking
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to break up or cause to break up by soaking
macerated peaches
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to become or cause to become thin
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of macerate
1540–50; < Latin mācerātus (past participle of mācerāre to make soft, weaken, steep); see -ate 1
Explanation
When you macerate something, you soften it by soaking it in a liquid, often while you're cooking or preparing food. To macerate strawberries, all you have to do is sprinkle sugar on them, which draws out their juices so they become soft and sweet and deliciously saucy. Macerate is sometimes also used to mean "cause to grow thin or weak," or in other words, to make someone feel like a soft, squishy strawberry.
Vocabulary lists containing macerate
A Culinary Vocabulary Sampler
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Silent Spring
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
To start, macerate the tomatoes in sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and cornstarch, then drain the excess juices in a separate bowl.
From Salon • Jul. 26, 2022
If you allow the juice to instead macerate with the skins, as you would a red, it picks up an amber tinge and some tannins, depending on how long the maceration lasts.
From New York Times • Nov. 5, 2020
Others we macerate, often with vanilla or cardamom, but this week it’s been fennel seeds and lemon.
From The Guardian • May 31, 2019
“As they open up, we take the blossoms off of the branches and macerate them in spirits” before distilling, Uselton says.
From Washington Post • Mar. 23, 2018
They macerate and digest the leaves, and aid in mixing the decomposed matter with the surface soil.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
