oxygenate

American  

[ok-si-juh-neyt] / ˈɒk sɪ dʒəˌneɪt /

verb (used with object)

• oxygenates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• oxygenated,
  past participle,  past
• oxygenating
  present participle

1. to treat, combine, or enrich with oxygen.

   to oxygenate the blood.

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oxygenate British  

/ ˈɒksɪdʒɪˌneɪt /

verb

1. to enrich or be enriched with oxygen

   to oxygenate blood

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oxygenate Scientific  

/ ŏk′sĭ-jə-nāt′ /

1. To combine or mix with oxygen, as in a physical, chemical, or biological system. Blood is oxygenated in the lungs.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antioxygenation
  noun
• antioxygenator
  noun
• hyperoxygenation
  noun
• oxygenation
  noun
• oxygenator
  noun
• oxygenizer
  noun
• superoxygenation
  noun
• hyperoxygenate
  verb (used with object)
• superoxygenate
  verb (used with object)
• antioxygenating
  adjective
• nonoxygenated
  adjective
• unoxygenated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• oxygenating
  present
• oxygenated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• oxygenate
  simple
• oxygenates
  simple
• have oxygenated
  perfect
• has oxygenated
  perfect
• am oxygenating
  progressive
• are oxygenating
  progressive
• is oxygenating
  progressive
• have been oxygenating
  perfect progressive
• has been oxygenating
  perfect progressive

Past

• oxygenated
  simple
• had oxygenated
  perfect
• was oxygenating
  progressive
• were oxygenating
  progressive
• had been oxygenating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will oxygenate
  simple
• will have oxygenated
  perfect
• will be oxygenating
  progressive
• will have been oxygenating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of oxygenate

First recorded in 1780–90; oxygen + -ate ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

oxygenate oxygenates oxygenated oxygenating

Look at trading for a key commodity with a heinous name: RBOB, short for reformulated gasoline blendstock for oxygenate blending.

From Barron's ● Mar. 20, 2026

Maternal blood to oxygenate us, all of us, when we were barely the size of a gummy bear.

From Slate ● Sep. 7, 2024

This caused a steep reduction in the number of burrowing invertebrates, which oxygenate sediments.

From Science Daily ● May 8, 2024

They are going to recirculate his blood to oxygenate it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2020

Take several long, deep breaths, oxygenate the bloodstream, then fill the lungs once and slide down under the surface.

From The Sensitive Man by Poul William Anderson

Surgeons would connect the blood vessels in the umbilical cord to a system that oxygenates blood outside the body.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 18, 2023

Crimmins says that because Maria’s lungs were not providing enough oxygen to her and Dylan, she was placed on ECMO, a life-supporting measure that oxygenates the blood outside of the body.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 22, 2021

You breathe in a fast, rhythmic way that oxygenates your brain, activating your parasympathetic nervous system and relaxing you.

From New York Times ● Nov. 15, 2019

But that story is only the embers of something more, which the film steadily exhales over, oxygenates and causes to flame up.

From The Guardian ● May 8, 2019

The air goes into the lungs, and that oxygenates the blood, but the lung has to inflate if the air is to penetrate all its vesicles.

From Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians; Epistles of St. Peter and St. John by Alexander Maclaren

Marine productivity remained lower, the ocean became highly oxygenated, and less organic carbon was buried.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 16, 2026

The tribunal found Ali "failed to obtain informed consent" from Patient B through the vitamin C, oxygenated water, sodium bicarbonate and ozone therapy treatments.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026

"The puzzle pieces are fitting together and really underscore how life was able to diversify and live in this new, oxygenated world."

From Science Daily ● Feb. 18, 2026

Amniotic fluid embolism can lead to heart and lung failure, which causes several complications due to a lack of oxygenated blood, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2025

The heart scrambling to deliver oxygenated blood, the mind scrambling to unravel the situation.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

In the Americas, doctors can help infected people by putting them on a life-support machine known as ECMO, for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, which breathes for the patient by oxygenating the blood.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026

These branches are ultimately responsible for oxygenating the blood in the lungs.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2023

The latter is battery-powered, and when turned on it creates an oxygenating spiral motion in the water in the carafe, which is said to improve its taste.

From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2023

It is used when a ventilator isn’t enough, pumping blood out of the body, oxygenating it, and then returning it.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 18, 2022

So I walked and walked, oxygenating my lungs and mentally documenting all that was going on.

From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys

Related Words

• aerate