commercialize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make commercial in character, methods, or spirit.
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to emphasize the profitable aspects of, especially at the expense of quality.
to commercialize one's artistic talent.
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to offer for sale; make available as a commodity.
verb
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to make commercial in aim, methods, or character
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to exploit for profit, esp at the expense of quality
Other Word Forms
- commercialization noun
- commercializer noun
- decommercialization noun
- decommercialize verb (used with object)
- overcommercialization noun
- overcommercialize verb (used with object)
- quasi-commercialized adjective
- uncommercialized adjective
Etymology
Origin of commercialize
Explanation
To commercialize something is to make money from it. If you're a painter, you might commercialize your art by printing greeting cards and selling them online. The verb commercialize comes from the adjective commercial, "done for financial profit," and its root, the Latin commercium, "trade." When you take an activity or an organization and manage it so that it results in a profit, you commercialize it. Delivering baked goods to your neighbors out of a sense of generosity is one thing — when you start charging them two dollars per cookie, you've commercialized your hobby.
Vocabulary lists containing commercialize
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.
Microgravity manufacturing has been studied for decades, and several companies, such as Varda Space Industries, which successfully made an HIV medicine in orbit, plan to commercialize it.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026
Tesler, who had all but given up on persuading Xerox to commercialize PARC’s output, saw no reason not to show Apple everything they had.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
It could be as simple as a blood-sample analysis in a lab, but we have yet to commercialize the currently available test for GLP-1s so that prescribers could truly do due diligence before prescribing them.
From Slate • Mar. 22, 2026
Glencore’s former recycling chief is leading an effort to commercialize a breakthrough in metals processing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026
Clark and Andreessen quickly understood the huge potential for Web-browsing software and decided to partner up to commercialize it.
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
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.
