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

Explanation

Colonization is the act of setting up a colony away from one's place of origin. Remember when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock? That was the beginning of a period of colonization. You may have heard of an ant colony, which is a community of ants that decided to set up shop in a particular place; this is an example of ant colonization. With humans, colonization is sometimes seen as a negative act because it tends to involve an invading culture establishing political control over an indigenous population (the people living there before the arrival of the settlers).

Example Sentences

While NASA’s goal is to establish more of an outpost dedicated to expanding the reach of the U.S., others are planning something straight out of the works of Andy Weir or Robert Heinlein: colonization.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026

When Monroe declared the Americas off limits to “future colonization by any European powers,” the U.S. didn’t really have the means or motive to meddle abroad.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 5, 2026

U.S. intervention in the region dates back 200 years, when President James Monroe declared Latin America off limits to European colonization and began a campaign to establish the U.S. as a hemispheric power.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 3, 2026

Slower colonization could delay carbon decomposition and reduce habitat formation for the many species that typically live inside Xylophaga burrows.

From Science Daily • Dec. 28, 2025

Thus, early Australians and New Guineans were probably capable of intentionally traveling over water to visible islands, and were using watercraft sufficiently often that the colonization of even invisible distant islands was repeatedly achieved unintentionally.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond