customize
Americanverb (used with object)
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customizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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customized,
past participle, past
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customizing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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customizationnoun
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customizernoun
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customizableadjective
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noncustomizedadjective
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semicustomizedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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customizesimple
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customizessimple
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have customizedperfect
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has customizedperfect
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am customizingprogressive
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are customizingprogressive
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is customizingprogressive
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have been customizingperfect progressive
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has been customizingperfect progressive
Past
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customizedsimple
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had customizedperfect
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was customizingprogressive
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were customizingprogressive
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had been customizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of customize
Explanation
To customize something is to make it exactly how you want it. If you put stickers all over your plain old notebook, you customize it. If you see the word customer in customize, you’re onto something — to customize is to make something to a customer’s specifications. When clothes are customized — or tailored — they’re made with you in mind, specifically. A customized suit should fit perfectly. If you customize your car, it could be bright pink with eyelashes on the headlights. Or not.
Vocabulary lists containing customize
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:
I like to arrange an almost ridiculous assortment of crunchy, creamy, salty, fresh and acidic things, allowing everyone to customize their bowls.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
These little things also have cute avatars, which you can customize to your liking.
From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2026
One of the most promising aspects of the discovery is the ability to customize the coating for different purposes.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
Altman said that users can customize instructions and implement custom rules that prohibit what Dots are capable of.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
“The default setting is typically ‘help,’ but you can customize as the situation allows.”
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
While Apple customizes many components inside iPhones, Khan said, “there isn’t a lot of customization” for memory, alluding to the possibility that commodity Chinese memory chips could be used.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Whenever she’s on the hunt for a new pair, her first stop is the Rose Bowl Flea Market where she finds Allyn Scura, a local vendor, who customizes vintage frames.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2025
This new testing method further advances precision medicine, which is a patient care approach that customizes treatments specifically for a person's genetics, environment and lifestyle.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 18, 2024
Kestenbaum uses Ikea for playrooms a lot, but customizes the pieces so the room doesn’t read Ikea.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 31, 2023
The plant sometimes customizes guns with scratches and blemishes by painting American flags on them, she said.
From Washington Post
Additional funding from Biohub then made it possible to acquire a customized, state-of-the-art Thermo Fisher Krios cryo-EM microscope and modify it to accommodate the laser technology.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026
Tau is developing a general-purpose AI model for robots, which it runs on customized third-party hardware.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
The market for Palantir could also expand as the focus shifts toward customized software applications.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
His research centers on metal organic frameworks, or MOFs, which are crystalline, porous materials with structures that can be carefully customized.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026
But the interior is a tacky lime green, so it’s been customized at some point.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
It started with Aflalo customizing vintage clothing in the back of a store and selling it before transitioning to producing its own clothing using sustainable materials.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
"It avoids the complex process of customizing cells and uses readily available drugs to reversibly enhance NK cells' anti-tumor activities."
From Science Daily ● May 25, 2026
Vargo purchased her home in April 2025 for about $450,000, spending closer to $465,000 all in after customizing finishes like lighting, fixtures and hardware.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 24, 2026
The key is to have fun with building and customizing your maximalist egg.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026
Lena had been creating paint-by-numbers canvases for him, sketching them with expert speed, customizing each image to his specifications.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
