I've been taught to marinate, like with a cloth... no wait, like with a pie pan and pieces of chicken in it. Squeeze the juice of an entire lemon (or lime) on it and let it sit with some cling wrap on it. At least three hours, but preferably overnite.
The purpose of this is not to make it taste like citrus, but for the acidity of the citrus juice to break down the tough stringy sinews in whatever species of meat we're cooking.
Before cooking we remove the meat from the citrus marinade and drain it on some paper towels.
Maybe for you the word "marinate" means something different than it means for me.