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Definition of pulverize - 4 dictionary results

pul⋅ver⋅ize

  [puhl-vuh-rahyz] verb, -ized, -iz⋅ing.
Use pulverize in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to reduce to dust or powder, as by pounding or grinding.
2. to demolish or crush completely.
3. Slang. to defeat, hurt badly, or, figuratively, render helpless: The Kid pulverized Jackson with a series of brutal lefts. He's a veteran nightclub comic who can pulverize any audience in seconds.
–verb (used without object)
4. to become reduced to dust.
Also, especially British, pul⋅ver⋅ise.

Origin:
1575–85; < LL pulverizāre to reduce to powder, equiv. to L pulver- (s. of pulvis; akin to pollen ) dust + -izāre -ize

Related forms:
pul⋅ver⋅iz⋅a⋅ble, adjective
pul⋅ver⋅i⋅za⋅tion, noun
pul⋅ver⋅iz⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pulverize
pul·ver·ize   (pŭl'və-rīz')   
v.   pul·ver·ized, pul·ver·iz·ing, pul·ver·iz·es

v.   tr.

  1. To pound, crush, or grind to a powder or dust.

  2. To demolish.

v.   intr.
To be ground or reduced to powder or dust.

[Middle English pulverizen, from Late Latin pulverizāre, from Latin pulvis, pulver-, dust.]
pul'ver·iz'a·ble adj., pul'ver·i·za'tion (-vər-ĭ-zā'shən) n., pul'ver·iz'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

pulverize 
1471 (implied in pp. pulverizate), from L.L. pulverizare "reduce to powder or dust," from L. pulvis (gen. pulveris) "dust" (see pollen).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: pul·ver·ize
Variant: also British pul·ver·ise /'p&l-v&-"rIz/
Function: verb
Inflected Forms:-ized also British -ised; -iz·ing also British -is·ing
transitive senses
: to reduce (as by crushing, beating, orgrinding) to very small particles pulverize intransitive senses
: to become pulverized
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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