caramelize
/ˈkaɹ(ə)məlʌɪz/
"caramelize" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“caramelize” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To convert (sugar) into caramel.
Corpus desk
Index EN-caramelize · caramelize · English
caramelize · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | caramelize |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈkaɹ(ə)məlʌɪz/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “caramelize” in English
Rare enough to double-check
caramelize is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈkaɹ(ə)məlʌɪz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
caramelize has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From caramel + -ize. The correct English form is caramelize, spelled C-A-R-A-M-E-L-I-Z-E.
Definition
- 1To convert (sugar) into caramel.
- 2To brown (sugar, or a foodstuff containing sugar) by means of heat.
- 3To undergo this kind of conversion or browning.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how caramelize appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Slowly cooking the onions will caramelize them, which brings out the sweetness and gives them a brown color.
Etymology
From caramel + -ize.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.