customize

American

[kuhs-tuh-mahyz] / ˈkʌs təˌmaɪz /

especially British, customise

verb (used with object)

customized, customizing

to modify or build according to individual or personal specifications or preference.

to customize an automobile.

customize British

/ ˈkʌstəˌmaɪz /

verb

(tr) to modify (something) according to a customer's individual requirements

"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

Other Word Forms

customizable adjective
customization noun
customizer noun
noncustomized adjective
semicustomized adjective

Etymology

Origin of customize

An Americanism dating back to 1930–35; custom + -ize

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.

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Vocabulary lists containing customize

Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ize

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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.

“JetBlue offers a range of fare options so customers can customize the experience that best fits their needs,” a JetBlue spokesperson said.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

Finally, consider setting up what I think of as a zhush station — a small collection of ingredients that allow guests to brighten and customize what’s on their plate.

From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026

So look for Nvidia to discuss how Groq LPUs will help broaden and customize its future chip portfolio to address training, prefill, and decode.

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

Forward deployed engineers, or FDEs, work on-site with a specific customer for a certain length of time, helping to customize and deploy the company’s technology based on the customer’s needs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023