oxidize

verb

Definition of oxidizenext
as in to decompose
to combine chemically with oxygen Iron will oxidize if it is exposed to air and moisture.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of oxidize These oxidizing species can chemically react with the membrane that surrounds a bacterium, damaging and destroying it. — Rahul Rao, Space.com, 19 Aug. 2026 The other is methemoglobinemia, a condition where hemoglobin is oxidized into a form that can’t release oxygen to tissue. — Jesse M. Pines, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026 The leaves used to make green tea are not oxidized during processing. — Christopher Bergland, Verywell Health, 3 Aug. 2026 DeRosa highlighted aubergine, rust, terra-cotta, burgundy, and oxidized earth tones. — Kristina McGuirk, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for oxidize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oxidize
  1. decompose
  2. rust
  3. react
  4. disintegrate
  5. crumble
  6. corrode
Verb
  • The study hypothesized that the sickle was added before the body fully decomposed since no joints were detached or displaced, as archaeologists would expect if a grave were to be disturbed after the body became a skeleton.
    — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Agents plan and reason, decompose goals into steps, call external tools and iterate without being prompted at each turn.
    — Hemant Kashyap, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of decompose
Verb
  • The rusting hull — once a famed vessel known as the Slovenian — surfaced earlier this month from the Sava River near the Serbian town of Sremska Mitrovica, 70 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of the capital of Belgrade.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The rusting hull — once a famed vessel known as the Slovenian — surfaced earlier this month from the Sava River near the Serbian town of Sremska Mitrovica, 45 miles northwest of the capital of Belgrade.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of rust
Verb
  • Families react The deaths of the children sent a wave of shock and grief across the country.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The judges react His arguments prompted questions — and apparent skepticism — from several justices.
    — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of react
Verb
  • Just seconds later, in a separate incident, the Brazilian F50 was about to go into a standard jibe maneuver (turning the boat through the wind to change direction) but disintegrated in the blink of an eye.
    — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Tim Graham/Getty Images Most Popular Nader’s empire quickly disintegrated into chaos.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of disintegrate
Verb
  • For decades, Mamdani’s predecessors have found the only choice more politically unpalatable than letting the whole three-layer cake of infrastructure crumble away is trying to stop it from crumbling.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The crumbling structure carries roughly 130,000 vehicles daily — of which some 13,000 are trucks — and has been in serious need of repair since the de Blasio administration.
    — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of crumble
Verb
  • Yet as norepinephrine levels exceed this threshold, those cognitive strengths begin to corrode.
    — Julian Hayes II, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Worse, sometimes they were corroded, broken, or not built to code, employees said.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of corrode

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oxcarts
oxidize
oxidized
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Cite this Entry

“Oxidize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oxidize. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

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