pasteurize
/ˈpæst͡ʃəɹaɪz/verb
pasteurize is spelled P-A-S-T-E-U-R-I-Z-E: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 31 million words in written English, the 169,822nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, pasteurize means “To heat food for the purpose of killing harmful organisms such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, molds, and yeasts” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pasteurize?
| Letters | 10: P-A-S-T-E-U-R-I-Z-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 31 million words; the 169,822nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is pasteurize?
Pasteurize appears about once in every 31 million words in written English, the 169,822nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pasteurize?
- US /ˈpæst͡ʃəɹaɪz/
- UK /ˈpɑːstʃəɹaɪz/
Pasteurize has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-pasteurize.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pasteurize
- pasteurizes present, singular, he/she/it
- pasteurizing participle, present
- pasteurized participle, past
- pasteurise
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pasteurize mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To heat food for the purpose of killing harmful organisms such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, molds, and yeasts.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pasteurize in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to heat food in order to kill harmful organisms:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pasteuriser |
| German | pasteurisieren |
| Portuguese | pasteurizar |
| Spanish | pasterizar, pasteurizar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pasteurize come from?
Borrowed from French pasteuriser. From Louis Pasteur, the inventor of the process, + -ize.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).