colonize

[ kol-uh-nahyz ]

/ ˈkɒl əˌnaɪz /

Save This Word!

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.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Also especially British, col·o·nise .

Origin of colonize

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

OTHER WORDS FROM colonize

col·o·niz·a·ble, adjectivecol·o·niz·a·bil·i·ty, nouncol·o·ni·za·tion, nouncol·o·ni·za·tion·ist, noun

col·o·niz·er, nounin·ter·col·o·ni·za·tion, nounin·ter·col·o·nize, verb, in·ter·col·o·nized, in·ter·col·o·niz·ing.re·col·o·ni·za·tion, nounre·col·o·nize, verb (used with object), re·col·o·nized, re·col·o·niz·ing.un·col·o·nize, verb (used with object), un·col·o·nized, un·col·o·niz·ing.well-col·o·nized, adjective

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

How to use colonize in a sentence

I had no new desk to colonize with my favorite knick-knacks and photos, and I still don’t know what the best office lunch spots are.
What to do in the first 90 days of a remote job|Karen Ho|January 4, 2021|Quartz
The pace at which he envisions these happening in order to make it possible to colonize Mars with a continuous human population requires the kind of rapid recycling and reflying of Super Heavy he described today with this proposed new landing method.
Elon Musk says SpaceX will attempt to recover Super Heavy rocket by catching it with launch tower|Darrell Etherington|December 30, 2020|TechCrunch
Futurists often say that these visions “colonize the future,” analogous to the colonization of continents belonging to other peoples.
Toys Are the Future of Philosophy - Issue 93: Forerunners|Jonathon Keats|December 9, 2020|Nautilus
The question for visionary artists, innovative toy makers, and responsible parents is how to avoid cultural imperatives that colonize the future.
Toys Are the Future of Philosophy - Issue 93: Forerunners|Jonathon Keats|December 9, 2020|Nautilus

They’re now colonizing the TikTok Wild West, and in 2021 the app is fated to evolve into a full-on business model.
Crystal Ball 2021: Predictions for the economy, politics, technology, and more|lbelanger225|December 1, 2020|Fortune
Russia is of course the colonizer and there was a sort of “mental revolution” against Russian power.
Inside ‘Maidan’: Sergei Loznitsa on His Ukrainian Uprising Doc and Putin’s ‘Fascist’ Regime|Richard Porton|May 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When it came to Haiti, France was first a brutal colonizer, and then a usurious bully.
Why Haiti's Earthquake Is France's Problem|Tunku Varadarajan|January 14, 2010|DAILY BEAST
We have not spoken of the Chancellor as an argonaut, of the Chancellor as a colonizer.
The Arena|Various
Captain John Smith, soldier, colonizer and Virginian planter, writing in 1606 describes two sorts of wild grapes.
The Grapes of New York|U. P. Hedrick
The notion, so widely current in this country, that Spain "failed" as a colonizer, arises from a faulty method.
The Colonization of North America|Herbert Eugene Bolton
Roberval, French colonizer, 82;commissioned viceroy and lieutenant-general of Canada, 82.
The Colonization of North America|Herbert Eugene Bolton
With this inglorious departure ends the career of the first great French colonizer.
Great Epochs in American History, Volume I.|Various

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

colonize

Origin of colonize

OTHER WORDS FROM colonize

Words related to colonize

How to use colonize in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for colonize

colonise

Derived forms of colonize