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Americanize

American  
[uh-mer-i-kuh-nahyz] / əˈmɛr ɪ kəˌnaɪz /
especially British, Americanise

verb (used with or without object)

  • Americanizes,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • Americanized,
    past participle,  past
  • Americanizing
    present participle
  1. to make or become American in character; assimilate to the customs and institutions of the United States.


Americanize British  
/ əˈmɛrɪkəˌnaɪz /

verb

  1. to make or become American in outlook, attitudes, etc

"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

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

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Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

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Etymology

Origin of Americanize

An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800; American + -ize

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:

And his character is complex in novel ways: The child of Chinese immigrants, Alexander was reared by people almost desperate to Americanize themselves, and he too has a hunger to be accepted.

From The Wall Street Journal Dec. 26, 2025

Meanwhile, Boyle Heights’ Forsythe Memorial School for Girls, a Protestant missionary school that sought to Americanize Mexican girls, is also on the list of historic places.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 30, 2025

“I am worried that they will Americanize it,” said George Norohna, a 61-year-old retired civil servant, who remembers the show as the first thing he ever saw on a color television.

From New York Times May 14, 2024

But if there was one lesson learned that might well be etched on some memorial to the lost cause of Afghanistan, it might well be Milley’s summation: “Don’t Americanize the war,” Milley said.

From Washington Post Sep. 28, 2021

“And what better way to Americanize the children than to buy a car!”

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

I don't care that chef Eddie Americanizes recipes.

From New York Times Apr. 9, 2018

Figuring out which direction each of these pastors pulled—toward a Christian nation or an Americanized Christianity, or both—might have added fine print to Mr. Sutton’s catalog of believers.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 19, 2026

Ahi led a double life as an Americanized disco producer, while also writing for his immigrant community.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 27, 2025

He also reflects on the journey of other cuisines, like Italian and Chinese, which were once considered “exotic” before becoming Americanized.

From Salon Feb. 22, 2025

“They wanted us to feel Americanized as much as possible,” Ravula said.

From Seattle Times Nov. 22, 2023

My parents have accepted the amount their kids have become "Americanized."

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Many Canadians despise him for Americanizing their game, but he devised a program to aid Canada-based teams when currency disparities handicapped them.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 30, 2023

It broke several records on Spotify and YouTube, and opened more doors for Latin music to be integrated on pop radio without watering down or Americanizing its songs.

From Washington Times Jan. 22, 2018

But while he has sought a resolution of the Syrian civil war, Mattis in 2013 warned against Americanizing what would be a “very, very serious war”.

From The Guardian Dec. 1, 2016

Americanizing his first and last names, the young Mr. Gruen learned English from the movies and graduated from the High School of Commerce on West 66th Street in Manhattan.

From New York Times Jul. 19, 2016

Just fancy Americanizing an American born and bred!

From Jane Allen, Junior by Edith Bancroft

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