mengolah

Mengolah is an Indonesian verb meaning to process, transform, or prepare something through a series of actions to achieve a result. It is widely used across contexts such as food preparation, industrial processing, and data management. The term emphasizes transformation and technique rather than mere handling, and it often implies steps, methods, and sometimes equipment or tools.

In cooking, mengolah bahan makanan refers to activities like washing, cutting, mixing, heating, and seasoning to produce a dish. In industry and manufacturing, it denotes transforming raw materials into finished products through processes such as refining, forming, or combining. In information technology, mengolah data means collecting, cleansing, organizing, analyzing, and presenting information. In environmental management, mengolah limbah describes treating waste to reduce harm or convert it into usable outputs. The word's flexibility reflects Indonesian language’s emphasis on process-oriented actions.

Linguistic notes: the root olah forms the base meaning, with the prefix meN- creating the active transitive verb mengolah. The related noun pengolahan refers to the process itself, while olahan can denote processed goods or outputs in certain contexts. The passive form diolah is used to describe something that has been or is being processed. In practice, mengolah is often paired with domain-specific nouns (data, makanan, limbah, bahan) to specify the type of transformation. See also pengolahan and memproses as related terms in Indonesian.