marinate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
marinates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
marinated,
past participle, past
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marinating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
marinatesimple
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marinatessimple
-
have marinatedperfect
-
has marinatedperfect
-
am marinatingprogressive
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are marinatingprogressive
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is marinatingprogressive
-
have been marinatingperfect progressive
-
has been marinatingperfect progressive
Past
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marinatedsimple
-
had marinatedperfect
-
was marinatingprogressive
-
were marinatingprogressive
-
had been marinatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of marinate
1635–45; probably < Italian marinato, past participle of marinare to pickle. See marine, -ate 1
Explanation
When you marinate food, you let it sit in a flavorful liquid before cooking it. You might marinate fish in soy sauce before putting it on the grill. The liquid used to marinate meat, fish, or vegetables is called a "marinade," and it usually includes some acidic ingredient like lemon juice or vinegar that helps the flavors penetrate the food. When you marinate chicken or tofu or beef, it becomes more moist and delicious after you cook it. The French root, mariner, means "to pickle in sea brine."
Vocabulary lists containing marinate
A Culinary Vocabulary Sampler
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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.
See Examples For:
You have to marinate it for a day and then clean it properly to make a sauce and simmer it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Just enough to let them marinate as they cooled.
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2026
The Rams don’t have much time to marinate in the victory: the rival San Francisco 49ers are coming to town on Thursday night.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2025
"Sometimes a song needs to marinate for a year, six months, it can take some time," she says.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2025
I was so good at denying myself this, the simple pleasure of even a secret crush, that the thoughts were never allowed to marinate in my mind.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
As explained by Parnell, Wert marinates the chicken wings and thighs for 24-hours in a homemade sweet tea brine.
From Salon ● Apr. 1, 2024
The deeply savory sun-dried tomato and basil vinaigrette marinates the chicken, to keep it tender when stir-fried, and doubles as a sauce for the orzo and feta.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 16, 2022
The pork marinates for three days in lemongrass, ginger, garlic and brown sugar.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 24, 2019
Thomas Kail compared Mr. Rockwell to a jazz musician, who only makes surprising riffs after “he takes every scene and examines it and scrutinizes it and marinates in it.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2019
Now behold water-spouts vomiting as they rush over the pavements, and rubbish marinates in puddles that fill the holes scooped out of the macadam.
From Against the Grain by J.-K. (Joris-Karl) Huysmans
The app has boosted lesser-known businesses and sent tourists in droves to unconventional locations such as Zibo, a quiet industrial city in Shandong, after its cheap, marinated barbecue skewers went viral.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
People may want to quibble with me about this, but I believe marinated beans occupy a category adjacent to, yet ontologically distinct from, bean salad.
From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2026
It’s billed as different from “your average rib sandwich,” with ribs that have been hand-deboned, marinated in a proprietary barbecue-sauce blend with apple-cider vinegar, then slow-cooked for nine hours.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 29, 2026
The initial videos were made using ByteDance’s AI tools by a Chinese food company to promote its marinated duck.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
She got up in the morning to fix breakfast and pack a lunch for her husband, then marinated a leg of lamb with wine and garlic.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
This isn’t Tom Brady marinating on an Eames chair for six weeks before deciding to give football another go.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Many people are numb or marinating in indignation and anger.
From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026
Sit with that pungent taste marinating on your tongue and savor every flavor profile, both the pleasant and unpleasant.
From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2026
We’re marinating on some ideas to cook something up for them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2023
The ground beef was marinating in so much lard it looked as if it were encased in Jell-O.
From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben
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.
