Definition of "methylate" []

• An organic compound in which the hydrogen of the hydroxyl group of methyl alcohol is replaced by a metal. (noun)
• To mix or combine with methyl alcohol. (verb-transitive)
• To combine with the methyl radical. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• ""We purify the oil through a chemical process that uses methanol and sodium methylate to strip the glycerin out of the oil," Baker said."
• "Especially while offspring are in utero, what their mothers do—or eat—can “methylate” particular genes in the offspring, changing how those genes behave."
• "Mercury in these consumers likely originates from estuaries, where conditions are conducive for bacteria to methylate mercury, or from the open ocean, where regions called the oxygen minimum zone appear to have water chemistry that is favorable for methylation."