caramelize

• caramelise
• carmelize (US, nonstandard)

From caramel +‎ -ize.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaɹ(ə)məlʌɪz/, /ˈkɑɹ(ə)məlʌɪz/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

caramelize (third-person singular simple present caramelizes, present participle caramelizing, simple past and past participle caramelized)

1. (cooking, transitive) To convert (sugar) into caramel.
2. (cooking, transitive) To brown (sugar, or a foodstuff containing sugar) by means of heat.

   Slowly cooking the onions will caramelize them, which brings out the sweetness and gives them a brown color.

3. (cooking, intransitive) To undergo this kind of conversion or browning.

• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “caramelize”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.