To granulate means to form something into small grains or particles. When you granulate sugar, you're forming it into those tiny crystals you sprinkle on cereal. Scientists might granulate a substance to make it easier to mix or measure, while manufacturers granulate materials to control how quickly they dissolve or how smoothly they flow.

You see granulation all around you. Table salt is granulated so it pours easily from a shaker. Instant coffee comes in granulated form so it dissolves quickly in hot water. Gardeners buy granulated fertilizer because the small, uniform pieces spread evenly across a lawn.

The related word granular describes something that's made of grains, like the granular texture of sand on a beach. When you look closely at brown sugar, you can see its granular structure: thousands of tiny crystals packed together. Granules are the small grains themselves, whether they're granules of sugar, salt, or sand.