colonization

American  

[kahl-uhn-iz-ay-shuhn, -ahyz-] / ˌkɑl ən ɪzˈeɪ ʃən, -aɪz- /

noun

plural

colonizations

1. the act, on the part of a nation or government, of claiming and forcibly taking control of territory other than its own, usually sending or allowing its own people to settle there.

2. the act of compelling or inducing people to settle in a particular area for economic or political purposes.

3. Biology. the spreading of a species into a new habitat.

4. Microbiology. the multiplication of a microbe in or on another organism, usually without causing infection or disease.

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colonization Scientific  

/ kŏl′ə-nĭ-zā′shən /

1. The spreading of a species into a new habitat. For example, flying insects and birds are often the first animal species to initiate colonization of barren islands formed by vulcanism or falling water levels. The first plant species to colonize such islands are often transported there as airborne seeds or through the droppings of birds.

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Other Word Forms

• anti-colonization adjective
• co-colonization noun
• colonizationist noun
• decolonization noun
• neo-colonization noun
• non-colonization noun
• post-colonization adjective
• pre-colonization adjective
• pro-colonization adjective
• recolonization noun
• self-colonization noun
• semi-colonization noun

Example Sentences

Geronimo’s people, who refused to submit to colonization, fought these wars on two fronts: against the U.S. in the north and Mexico in the south.

From The Wall Street Journal

Rising temperatures and shifting climate zones would force species out of some areas while opening new habitats elsewhere, triggering faster local extinctions and rapid colonization.

From Science Daily

Both significantly accelerated tumor growth and increased metastatic colonization in independent cell line models.

From Science Daily

In 1823, President James Monroe declared the Western Hemisphere off limits to European colonization.

From The Wall Street Journal

Three centuries of Danish colonization has spurred a range of resentments between the island’s Inuit residents and faraway Copenhagen.

From The Wall Street Journal