macerate

verb

mac·​er·​ate ˈma-sə-ˌrāt How to pronounce macerate (audio)
macerated; macerating

transitive verb

1
: to cause to waste away by or as if by excessive fasting
2
: to cause to become soft or separated into constituent elements by or as if by steeping in fluid
broadly : steep, soak

intransitive verb

: to soften and wear away especially as a result of being wetted or steeped
maceration noun
macerator noun

Did you know?

Macerate is derived from the Latin verb macerare, which means "to soften" or "to steep," and, in Late Latin, can also mean "to mortify (the flesh)." Macerate first entered English in the mid-1500s to refer both to the wasting away of flesh especially by fasting and to softening or steeping. A few other manifestations sprouted thereafter from the word's figurative branch (e.g., the 18th-century novelist Laurence Sterne once wrote of "a city so macerated with expectation"); however, those extensions wilted in time. Today, the "steeping" and "soaking" senses of macerate saturate culinary articles (as in "macerating fruit in liquor") as well as other writings (scientific ones, for instance: "the food is macerated in the gizzard" or "the wood is macerated in the solution").

Examples of macerate in a Sentence

garnished with cherries that had been macerated in liqueur
Recent Examples on the Web Do the strawberries need to macerate in the sugar for an hour? Kathy Gunst, Charlotte Observer, 30 Jan. 2024 Categorized as a London dry gin, its unique character and flavor come from the choice of botanicals, which are macerated in spirit for 24 hours. Claudia Alarcón, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023 Those are then macerated in a neutral cane spirit for six months to create the core Ancho Reyes expression. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 17 Nov. 2023 Dessert was a platter of Mara des Bois strawberries from Norwich Meadows Farm in Norwich, N.Y., macerated in sugar and served in a heap over a bed of crème fraîche. Mahira Rivers, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2023 The grapes were dried in single layers on bamboo racks for 120 days to concentrate their flavors and sugar, and they were then macerated and fermented for 40 days before spending seven years in wood, mainly Slavonian oak. Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 17 Oct. 2023 Each ingredient is macerated in the base spirit separately for five days before being blended together into the final product, which is bottled at 80 proof with no additives or flavorings. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 5 Oct. 2023 The grapes are de-stemmed, pressed, and left to macerate in a metal tank. Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2023 Fujimaru’s second in command, Atsushi Tanaka, shows me around the first floor of this nondescript building, where first-of-their-kind experiments include Delaware grapes macerating in rotund earthenware vessels. Adam Erace, Travel + Leisure, 25 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'macerate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin maceratus, past participle of macerare to soften, steep

First Known Use

1547, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of macerate was in 1547

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Dictionary Entries Near macerate

Cite this Entry

“Macerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/macerate. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

macerate

1 of 2 verb
mac·​er·​ate ˈmas-ə-ˌrāt How to pronounce macerate (audio)
macerated; macerating

transitive verb

: to soften (as tissue) by steeping or soaking so as to separate into constituent elements

intransitive verb

: to undergo maceration
allow the drug to macerate in hot water for one hour

macerate

2 of 2 noun
mac·​er·​ate ˈmas-ə-rət How to pronounce macerate (audio)
: a product of macerating : something prepared by maceration
examining the chromosomes in a liver macerate
compare homogenate
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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