colonize
(of a nation or government) to claim and forcibly take control of (a territory other than its own), usually sending some of its own people to settle there: England colonized Australia.
to move from one’s own country and settle in (such a territory): Dutch farmers were among the first Europeans to colonize the river valleys of New Jersey and New York.
to be the first settlers in: Southern Pacific islanders are thought to have colonized Hawaii around a.d. 450.
to compel or induce (people) to settle in an area for economic or political purposes:The government made efforts to colonize laborers and their families in areas suitable for growing rice.
Biology. (of a species of plant or animal) to move or be transported to (a new habitat) and seek to become established there: Arthropods were the first animal species to colonize land around 450 million years ago.
Microbiology, Medicine/Medical. (of a microbe) to multiply on or in (another organism), especially without causing infection or disease: Researchers attempted to get the bacteria in a probiotic to successfully colonize the intestines of 23 volunteers.
to take control of or settle in territories other than one’s own: Many other European powers were colonizing during the modern period besides France.When the British colonized in Australia, the basic rights of Aboriginals were taken away.
Origin of colonize
1- Also especially British, col·o·nise .
Other words from colonize
- col·o·niz·a·ble, adjective
- col·o·niz·a·bil·i·ty [kol-uh-nahy-zuh-bil-i-tee], /ˌkɒl əˌnaɪ zəˈbɪl ɪ ti/, noun
- col·o·ni·za·tion [kol-uh-nahy-zey-shuhn], /ˌkɒl ə naɪˈzeɪ ʃən/, noun
- col·o·ni·za·tion·ist, noun
- col·o·niz·er, noun
- in·ter·col·o·ni·za·tion, noun
- in·ter·col·o·nize, verb, in·ter·col·o·nized, in·ter·col·o·niz·ing.
- re·col·o·ni·za·tion, noun
- re·col·o·nize, verb (used with object), re·col·o·nized, re·col·o·niz·ing.
- un·col·o·nize, verb (used with object), un·col·o·nized, un·col·o·niz·ing.
- well-col·o·nized, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use colonize in a sentence
Wherever we turn to colonise, we are too late; England has already secured the finest territory, the most fruitful of the land.
Mysterious Mr. Sabin | E. Phillips OppenheimFor, though it's proper to deny that Germans can colonise, they have certainly ruled Samoa very well.
Letters from America | Rupert BrookeThey proceed to colonise, and to colonise in such numbers that they cannot easily be kept out.
The Agrarian Problem in the Sixteenth Century | Richard Henry TawneyCould I but colonise Cintra with half-a-dozen families, I should never wish to leave it.
His brother Humphrey makes a second attempt to colonise Newfoundland, and perishes as heroically as he had lived.
Sir Walter Raleigh and his Time | Charles Kingsley
British Dictionary definitions for colonize
colonise
/ (ˈkɒləˌnaɪz) /
to send colonists to or establish a colony in (an area)
to settle in (an area) as colonists
(tr) to transform (a community) into a colony
(of plants and animals) to become established in (a new environment)
Derived forms of colonize
- colonizable or colonisable, adjective
- colonization or colonisation, noun
- colonizer or coloniser, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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