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colonize

[ kol-uh-nahyz ]
/ ˈkɒl əˌnaɪz /
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See synonyms for: colonize / colonized / colonizing / colonization on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), col·o·nized, col·o·niz·ing.
to establish a colony in; settle: England colonized Australia.
to form a colony of: to colonize laborers in a mining region.
verb (used without object), col·o·nized, col·o·niz·ing.
to form a colony: They went out to Australia to colonize.
to settle in a colony.
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Also especially British, col·o·nise .

Origin of colonize

First recorded in 1615–25; colon(y) + -ize

OTHER WORDS FROM colonize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use colonize in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for colonize

colonize

colonise

/ (ˈkɒləˌnaɪz) /

verb
to send colonists to or establish a colony in (an area)
to settle in (an area) as colonists
(tr) to transform (a community) into a colony
(of plants and animals) to become established in (a new environment)

Derived forms of colonize

colonizable or colonisable, adjectivecolonization or colonisation, nouncolonizer or coloniser, noun
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
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