American spelling: to treat, coat, or impregnate something with bitumen.
From 'bitumen' plus the American suffix '-ize' (from Latin '-izare,' eventually from Greek '-izein'). The '-ize' suffix creates verbs meaning 'to make' or 'to treat with.'
American road engineers 'bituminize' highways while their British counterparts 'bituminise' the same roads—it's a great example of how English split into different spelling conventions after American independence!
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