optimize
Americanverb (used with object)
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optimizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
optimized,
past participle, past
-
optimizing
present participle
-
to make as effective, perfect, or useful as possible.
-
to make the best of.
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Computers. to write or rewrite (the instructions in a program) so as to maximize efficiency and speed in retrieval, storage, or execution.
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Mathematics. to determine the maximum or minimum values of (a specified function that is subject to certain constraints).
verb (used without object)
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optimizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
optimized,
past participle, past
-
optimizing
present participle
verb
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(tr) to take the full advantage of
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(tr) to plan or carry out (an economic activity) with maximum efficiency
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(intr) to be optimistic
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(tr) to write or modify (a computer program) to achieve maximum efficiency in storage capacity, time, cost, etc
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(tr) to find the best compromise among several often conflicting requirements, as in engineering design
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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optimizesimple
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optimizessimple
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have optimizedperfect
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has optimizedperfect
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am optimizingprogressive
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are optimizingprogressive
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is optimizingprogressive
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have been optimizingperfect progressive
-
has been optimizingperfect progressive
Past
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optimizedsimple
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had optimizedperfect
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was optimizingprogressive
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were optimizingprogressive
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had been optimizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of optimize
Explanation
Optimize means to make the best possible use of something. If you optimize your home storage capacity, you clean and organize your closets and drawers to be able to fit the most in. Before the advent of the Internet, the word optimize was mostly used to describe the act of being really positive about the world, or being an optimist. But today one can scarcely hear the word without thinking about how to optimize a website or make it as efficient as possible. SEO, standing for "search engine optimization," refers to this process of optimizing a website to make it appear more frequently in web searches.
Vocabulary lists containing optimize
Engineering - Introductory
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Engineering: Defining Problems and Designing Solutions - Introductory
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Mathematical Modeling
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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:
One acquaintance remembers Coxon batting around different career paths as he searched for ways to optimize his life trajectory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
There is only space to optimize, and streamline, and organize.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
“Not every workload requires a complex and expensive frontier model, and Microsoft’s approach helps optimize performance while reducing token consumption.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
It helps younger people and athletes optimize athletic performance, prevent sports-related injuries and stay fit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
The university had a reputation for spawning world-class scientists exploring how to optimize use of technology in airplanes and in the military, in the tradition of Broadbent and Dr. Treisman.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Evolution optimizes “for survival rather than elegance,” he writes, and our biology shows it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
He expects Nestlé’s revenue growth to reaccelerate as it optimizes its portfolio around areas like coffee and pet care.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
Mattel said the job cuts are part of an effort to save money as the company optimizes for growth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026
To Joel Lewenstein, head of product design at Anthropic, AI slop is “generic content, undifferentiated content — something that optimizes for volume and passive consumption over everything else.”
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 29, 2025
Such a structure is generated by the technological implementation of the brain, and it optimizes the activity of the brain in a section of the external reality.
From The Brain, A Decoded Enigma by Dorin Teodor Moisa
“We’ve made a car that looks like the future, designed and optimized around the passenger” said Ian Kettle, site manager for the Cybercab, on Thursday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
HP HPQ 3.39%increase; up pointing triangle reported revenue growth in the third quarter, as higher prices and demand for personal computers optimized for artificial intelligence more than offset a decline in PC sales volumes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
When tested under optimized conditions, the catalyst converted nearly all of the model lignin compounds and generated high yields of valuable chemical products, including phenol.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
Leopold noted that Arm mostly benefits from rising demand through its business selling royalties and licensing for its chip designs — though its first-ever in-house CPU optimized to support AI workloads could offer an advantage.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
The members decided to fund two machines of different sizes, each optimized to produce different particles; the only question left was which lab would build which machine.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
I began gently optimizing my library use the way someone might optimize a coffee-shop punch card.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
And creators have been promised an environment free from the pressure of optimizing content for engagement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
When it comes to fitness and longevity, cardio, strength training and stretching have long gotten the spotlight as the go-to approaches for optimizing our health span and lifespan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
I didn’t realize that optimizing my travel points meant picking up a new hobby: constantly comparing prices on travel portals, which is where you redeem your credit-card points for plane tickets, hotels and experiences.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
At Mirror Tech we’re dedicated to optimizing human potential.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
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.
