centralize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to draw to or gather about a center.
-
to bring under one control, especially in government.
to centralize budgeting in one agency.
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to draw or move (something) to or towards a centre
-
to bring or come under central control, esp governmental control
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of centralize
Explanation
To centralize is to join together or concentrate in one main place. Instead of keeping coins and bills stashed all around your room, it might be wise to centralize your savings in your piggy bank. The word centralize is often used by companies, organizations, or governments when they reorganize or streamline their operations by focusing control in one main location or authority. A school district might centralize student records by putting them all in one location instead of keeping them at separate schools. A corporation may centralize its operations by putting all its managers in one main office, or headquarters, shutting down regional locations in order to cut costs.
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.
It’s unclear whether Paramount would sell the historic Melrose Avenue lot or simply centralize the sprawling operations onto the Warner Bros. and Paramount lots in Burbank and Hollywood.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026
Manfred wants to centralize local TV rights for all 30 teams and sell them as a package, which he says could provide a long-term solution to MLB’s media problem.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026
The companies’ highly compensated workforces are heavily slashed, and their operations are typically transferred to Milan in order to centralize the Bending Spoons family.
From Slate • Jan. 23, 2026
Andy Sriubas, the Social Security Administration’s chief of field operations, told Social Security employees in a Nov. 25 memo that changes would be made to centralize the workload.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 20, 2026
The plan was accepted at most branches, but some of the more far-flung outposts felt that the plan was an effort by Jo-hannesburg to centralize control over the regions.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
