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
Jukes used organic apple cider vinegar to macerate fruits and other flavors he routinely identifies in wines.
From Washington Post • Jan. 13, 2022
Others we macerate, often with vanilla or cardamom, but this week it’s been fennel seeds and lemon.
From The Guardian • May 31, 2019
Rather than allow the grape juice to macerate for long with the pigment-bearing skins, as they would a red wine, producers whisk away the skins after the juice has absorbed the preferred amount of color.
From New York Times • Jul. 5, 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.
