maximize
Americanverb (used with object)
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maximizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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maximized,
past participle, past
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maximizing
present participle
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to increase to the greatest possible amount or degree.
to look for ways of maximizing profit.
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to represent at the highest possible estimate; magnify.
He maximized his importance in the program, minimizing the contributions of the other participants.
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to make the greatest or fullest use of.
Maximize your time by planning ahead.
verb
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(tr) to make as high or great as possible; increase to a maximum
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maths to find the maximum of (a function)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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maximizesimple
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maximizessimple
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have maximizedperfect
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has maximizedperfect
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am maximizingprogressive
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are maximizingprogressive
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is maximizingprogressive
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have been maximizingperfect progressive
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has been maximizingperfect progressive
Past
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maximizedsimple
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had maximizedperfect
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was maximizingprogressive
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were maximizingprogressive
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had been maximizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of maximize
Explanation
When you maximize something, you make it as big as you possibly can, the way you would maximize your chances of winning the lottery if you spent all of your money on lottery tickets. It seems like you come across the word maximize most often in dry, boring contexts like businesses trying to "maximize" their profits or a politician wanting to "maximize" her government's potential. Regular people probably use it more often when they're talking about their computers, to mean "display a window at its largest size." When you maximize a window on your computer, you can actually see what the word means!
Vocabulary lists containing maximize
Scrabble: High Scoring Words
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20 Common Words That Will Boost Your Scrabble Score
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Workshop 2, Part 1
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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:
“After a comprehensive review of the available alternatives, the board determined that this court-supervised sale process provides the company with the best opportunity to maximize value for all stakeholders,” Adams said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
McDaniel is not only trying to rally his troops, but he’s also working to maximize his makeshift offensive line’s strengths.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
County has been removing massive amounts of sediment from reservoirs including San Gabriel, Eaton Wash and Devil’s Gate to maximize their water-catching capacity and fend off floods.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
They also suggest that reducing treatment interruptions could help maximize the drugs' protective effects on the heart.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
Ten if we’re biking fast, and we rode fast today, trying to maximize our time together before Dad made me go home.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
Regardless of whether the settlement maximizes California’s immediate economic benefits, the states’ ability to delay the transaction and force concessions is presented as a lasting institutional gain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
I asked them if there’s a ratio of assets to spending that maximizes the odds of a secure retirement—even if stock returns stink or you turn out to be Methuselah.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
“Most people are only setting aside 6% in their retirement plans because that maximizes their employer-match. Catch-ups don’t come into play too often.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 29, 2026
This approach maximizes bandwidth efficiency and adapts to changes in signal quality.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 2, 2026
Intensive agriculture is much more productive but maximizes the land’s exposure.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Sending those ships on repeat voyages with quick turnaround times maximized the amount of crude they could get out of Hormuz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
In this case, HP also raised prices, maximized the value of the inventory it already had, and tried to push demand to higher-margin products.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
Art, increasingly, is maximized to encompass us, and Cosm understands this moment well.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
The effect of clipping is context collapse maximized to further a hasty impression of a vaguely famous person.
From Slate ● May 6, 2026
But conventional agriculture focuses on maximized yields through high plant densities.
From Gardening Without Irrigation: or without much, anyway by Steve Solomon
That can make maximizing the owner’s contribution expensive.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
For Innovafeed, the priority isn’t maximizing prices but attracting long-term customers of insect protein, Ray said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
This trade-off almost always falls on the side of maximizing your reach and volume.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
When our strategy is about maximizing our growth platforms, expanding margin, there are some key capabilities that you need in order to do that.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Regiomontanus’s procedure for measuring parallax ideally involved comparing the apparent position of a celestial object soon after dark with its apparent position not long before dawn, thus maximizing the parallax to be measured.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
