metabolize

[ muh-tab-uh-lahyz ]

/ məˈtæb əˌlaɪz /

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verb (used with or without object), me·tab·o·lized, me·tab·o·liz·ing.

to subject to metabolism; change by metabolism.

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THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Also especially British, me·tab·o·lise .

Origin of metabolize

First recorded in 1885–90; metabol(ism) + -ize

OTHER WORDS FROM metabolize

me·tab·o·liz·a·bil·i·ty, nounme·tab·o·liz·a·ble, adjectiveme·tab·o·liz·er, nounun·me·tab·o·lized, adjective

Words nearby metabolize

metabolic heat, metabolic pathway, metabolic syndrome, metabolism, metabolite, metabolize, metabolome, metabolomics, metaboly, metabotropic receptor, metacarpal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use metabolize in a sentence

The researchers then placed the tissue samples in a sealed chamber, fed them pyruvate, and measured how much oxygen the cells used up to metabolize the chemical.
Sea otters defy our understanding of metabolism|Claire Maldarelli|July 9, 2021|Popular-Science
Eukaryotes arose about 2 billion years ago, when a bacterium that could metabolize oxygen for energy took up residence inside an archaeal cell.
DNA’s Histone Spools Hint at How Complex Cells Evolved|Viviane Callier|May 10, 2021|Quanta Magazine
It metabolizes alcohol and other bad moleculesThe alcohol we consume can’t be directly excreted—it has to be transformed to be eliminated.
Your liver does more than you give it credit for|By Marie-Pierre Hasne/The Conversation|March 17, 2021|Popular-Science
Degrading alcohol is a multi-step process that happens in the liver, where cells metabolize it using a series of enzymes working in a tidy cascade of reactions.
Your liver does more than you give it credit for|By Marie-Pierre Hasne/The Conversation|March 17, 2021|Popular-Science

We’re primed to metabolize breakfast before even taking a bite.
Daylight saving time begins Sunday: 8 things to know about “springing forward”|Brian Resnick|March 12, 2021|Vox
Some metabolize codeine quite poorly and have inadequate pain control as a result.
Codeine Still Widely Prescribed to Kids Despite Decades-Old Warnings|Russell Saunders|April 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hormonal excesses in the blood require a clean and healthy liver to metabolize and excrete.
Can Food Make You Infertile? Foods to Eat and Avoid|Anneli Rufus|December 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST
“Metabolism is as unique as a fingerprint, some people metabolize food very fast and others very slow,” says Plano.
5 Metabolism Myths Debunked|Sarah Whitman-Salkin|August 25, 2009|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for metabolize

metabolize

metabolise

/ (mɪˈtæbəˌlaɪz) /

verb

to bring about or subject to metabolism

Derived forms of metabolize

metabolizable or metabolisable, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for metabolize

metabolize

[ mĭ-tăb′ə-līz′ ]

To subject a substance to metabolism or produce a substance by metabolism.