pasteurise

/ˈpæst͡ʃəɹaɪz/

//ˈpæst͡ʃəɹaɪz// verb

"pasteurise" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pasteurise” 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 heat food for the purpose of killing harmful organisms such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, molds, and yeasts.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pasteurise · pasteurise · English

pasteurise · 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 "P" 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.

Key facts for pasteurise
PropertyValue
Headwordpasteurise
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈpæst͡ʃəɹaɪz/
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pasteurise” in English

pasteuriseranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pasteurise is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈpæst͡ʃəɹaɪz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To heat food for the purpose of killing harmful organisms such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, molds, and yeasts.".

pasteurise has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French pasteuriser. From Louis Pasteur, the inventor of the process, + -ise. The correct English form is pasteurise, spelled P-A-S-T-E-U-R-I-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To heat food for the purpose of killing harmful organisms such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, molds, and yeasts.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how pasteurise appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Opolot liked his milk straight from the cow – pasteurising kills both the taste and the savour, he claimed – and hardly diluted.

Etymology

Borrowed from French pasteuriser. From Louis Pasteur, the inventor of the process, + -ise.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pasteurise"?
"pasteurise" is spelled P-A-S-T-E-U-R-I-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpæst͡ʃəɹaɪz/.
What does "pasteurise" mean?
As a verb, "pasteurise" means: To heat food for the purpose of killing harmful organisms such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, molds, and yeasts.
How do you pronounce "pasteurise"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pasteurise" is /ˈpæst͡ʃəɹaɪz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "pasteurise"?
Borrowed from French pasteuriser. From Louis Pasteur, the inventor of the process, + -ise. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list