macerate
verb
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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
Joseph Hernandez, Bon Appetit Magazine, 21 Oct. 2025
Let apples stand at room temperature fat least 1 hour or up to 24 hours to macerate and release their juices, stirring occasionally.
—Staff Author, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Sep. 2025
There are croissants, bagels, fresh mint, and macerated cherries, suggesting the existence of a sleepover macerater hidden somewhere in Heather’s penthouse.
—Peter Larsen, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
There are several ice creams offered, but my dining companion recommended the Strawberry Cake with balsamic macerated strawberries and buttercream - talk about a guilty pleasure!
—Tom Hyland, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for macerate
Cite this Entry
“Macerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/macerate. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
macerate
1 of 2 verb
macerate
2 of 2 noun
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