commercialization

American  

[kuh-mur-shuhl-uh-zey-shuhn] / kəˌmɜr ʃəl əˈzeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the condition of being focused on the profitable aspects of something, especially to excess.

   Many families have grown tired of the commercialization of Christmas.

   Increased commercialization—and the tendency to view audiences as consumers rather than citizens—has contributed to the decline in public-service broadcasting.

2. the act or process of making something available for sale or viable as a profitable commodity.

   The fuel cell is currently expensive to produce, but commercialization will reduce the costs.

   Successful commercialization of this oilseed will depend on a combination of farmer and market readiness that may be difficult to achieve.

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Etymology

Origin of commercialization

First recorded in 1885–90; commercial ( def. ) + -ization ( def. )

Explanation

Commercialization happens when something turns into a money-making business. It can be a good thing, but it’s often used in the negative, like when the commercialization of a holiday means you just have to buy stuff. Commercialization is sometimes negative because it has a sense of valuing profits over anything else. It can also be positive, like the commercialization of a life-saving drug when it leaves the lab and hits the market. Commercialization refers to the whole process of the business of selling something. The words commercial, commercialize, and commercialization all relate to commerce, which is the exchange of goods and services.

Example Sentences

“Alibaba’s full-stack AI investments have progressed from incubation to commercialization at scale. This quarter, we achieved accelerated breakthroughs across models, cloud infrastructure, and applications,” said Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu in a statement.

From Barron's • May 12, 2026

Under Measure CB, illegal businesses would pay the same tax on gross receipts that legal businesses pay, including 10% on cannabis sales, 5% on medical cannabis sales and 2% on manufacturing, cultivation or other commercialization.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

It is about punk rock and the inevitable commercialization of it.

From Salon • Apr. 28, 2026

TD Cowen analyst Krish Sankar wrote in a note that he sees Nvidia’s new model as a key accelerant for the commercialization of the quantum industry.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

On the whole, Blumberg said, commercialization is good; how else would we get the drugs and diagnostic tests we need?

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot