verb
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To convert data or signals, such as images, text, or sound, to digital form.
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See more at A/D converter
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of digitize
Explanation
When you digitize something, you adapt it into a form that can be read by a computer. Publishers digitize books so they can be read on e-readers, tablets, and smartphones. You can digitize your parents' old photographs by scanning them and then uploading them. And since record companies started to digitize music, that's increasingly how people listen to it — while you may enjoy playing records on an old turntable, you probably listen to new music using an app on your phone or computer. Since 1953, this verb has been used to mean "convert into a sequence of digits," specifically digits a computer can read.
Vocabulary lists containing digitize
Computer Science and Technology - Introductory
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Computer Science and Technology - Middle School
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Computer Science and Technology - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Each specimen can be scanned in about 45 seconds, allowing researchers to digitize entire museum collections far more efficiently than would otherwise be possible.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026
Specs can digitize a chess board, provide AR-guided training for shooting basketballs and even highlight the coolant reservoir under the hood of a car, according to videos and photos online.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
In recent months, “ET” has undertaken a massive project to digitize and preserve all 11,600-plus episodes made since its founding host Mary Hart first signed on when Ronald Reagan was in the White House.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2026
Repeated attempts by startups to digitize leasing and sales have struggled to gain traction, especially at the top end of the market where relationships are critical and pricing information is closely guarded.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
Their film collection was gone, save a few pieces that Molly had managed to digitize.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
In an AI-adjusted version, everything is digitized to uncanny perfection.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
The health system digitized vast amounts of data, but the law failed to ensure that providers share that information among themselves and the patient.
From MarketWatch ● May 4, 2026
A spokesperson for Cohen told The Times her office is using media to get out the word about unclaimed funds and has digitized the claim system.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
The village life she knew has been largely digitized and paved over.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
It used to be the post office was where I went to send my mail, but once the Internet came alive, I wanted my mail digitized so I could e-mail it.
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
He modernized the office during that time, digitizing millions of paper records and creating a portal to help residents search for assessment records.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
KoBold, meanwhile, is in the process of digitizing archives at the University of Lubumbashi in Congo and has signed an agreement to also digitize documents for neighboring Burundi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
Last year, it attained a valuation of $2.96 billion and recently finished two years of digitizing maps and other documents from the state archives in neighboring Zambia, where it hit pay dirt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
Tokenization, supported by JPMorgan’s Kinexys Digital Assets platform, involves digitizing equities for decentralized blockchain trading.
From Barron's ● Dec. 15, 2025
Molly had even expressed interest in finally getting around to digitizing their film collection as a pretext to learning how to edit video content for the internet, an interest that Clara had thankfully not questioned.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
