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polymerize

American  
[puh-lim-uh-rahyz, pol-uh-muh-] / pəˈlɪm əˌraɪz, ˈpɒl ə mə- /
especially British, polymerise

verb (used with object)

polymerized, polymerizing
  1. to subject to polymerization.


verb (used without object)

polymerized, polymerizing
  1. to undergo polymerization.

polymerize British  
/ pəˈlɪmə-, ˈpɒlɪməˌraɪz /

verb

  1. to react or cause to react to form a polymer

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of polymerize

First recorded in 1860–65; polymer + -ize

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:

And skip the cooking spray: It can polymerize, leaving behind a sticky residue.

From The Wall Street Journal Oct. 24, 2025

After the animal is caught, the resin begins to polymerize and harden.

From Washington Post Jan. 20, 2014

Heat and pressure polymerize this substance into a tough, elastic product which looks much like crude natural rubber, but far surpasses it in resistance to age, heat, sunlight and gases.

From Time Magazine Archive

They had only to polymerize the chloroprene to the right point, and all of them were experienced polymerizers.

From Time Magazine Archive

During the course of roasting and subsequent cooling these decomposition products probably interact and polymerize to form aromatic tar-like materials and other complexes which play an important rôle among the delicate flavors of coffee.

From All About Coffee by Ukers, William H. (William Harrison)

“Maybe the material has already polymerized in that outlet,” Picazo said.

From Los Angeles Times May 23, 2026

Last year a Mars rover discovered organic compounds, or substances that have been polymerized with carbon.

From Salon Apr. 26, 2024

The precursor is polymerized within the 3D-printed structure, creating a second elastomeric network that rigidifies the entire object.

From Science Daily Apr. 18, 2024

Members of the pyroxene family have a complex chemical composition that includes iron, magnesium, aluminum, and other elements bonded to polymerized silica tetrahedra.

From Textbooks Jan. 1, 2017

Elementary carbon ought to be gaseous at the ordinary temperature, and the various kinds of carbon which occur in nature are in reality polymerized products of the true element carbon.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 385, May 19, 1883 by Various

Why were the butadiene plants and the polymerizing plants not built?

From Time Magazine Archive

Goodrich's Koroseal is made by adding hydrogen chloride to acetylene, then polymerizing.

From Time Magazine Archive

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