diversify

American  

[dih-vur-suh-fahy, dahy-] / dɪˈvɜr səˌfaɪ, daɪ- /

verb (used with object)

diversified, diversifying

1. to make diverse, as in form or character; give variety or diversity to; variegate.

2. to invest in different types of (securities, industries, etc.).

3. to produce different types of (manufactured products, crops, etc.).

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verb (used without object)

diversified, diversifying

1. to invest in different types of industries, securities, etc.

2. to add different types of manufactured products, crops, etc., especially to a business.

diversify British  

/ daɪˈvɜːsɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. (tr) to create different forms of; variegate; vary

2. (of an enterprise) to vary (products, operations, etc) in order to spread risk, expand, etc

3. to distribute (investments) among several securities in order to spread risk

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Other Word Forms

• diversifiability noun
• diversifiable adjective
• diversifier noun
• overdiversify verb
• undiversifying noun

Etymology

Origin of diversify

1400–50; late Middle English < Anglo-French diversifier < Medieval Latin dīversificāre, equivalent to Latin dīvers ( us ) diverse + -ificāre -ify

Explanation

Diversify means to vary in type. It's often used to discuss risk in financial activities. You might diversify your investments by spreading your wealth among different types of stocks. You may have noticed that diversify looks like the word diverse, an adjective that describes showing variety and difference. If you want to diversify your interests, that means you want to mix it up and do more than just play Dungeons and Dragons all the time — you might become active in sports, theater, and the math club. Diversify can also describe expanding into new areas. A company might diversify by sending its sales force into Asia and Latin America.

Example Sentences

It is also seeking to diversify revenues beyond the sea economy through the likes of tourism, renewable energy and the country's offshore sovereign wealth fund.

From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026

But the war is hitting their core business proposition—being oases of stability within a volatile region—and delivering a blow to efforts to diversify their economies beyond energy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party gained a majority and seeks to diversify markets.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

It gave early amniotes the ability to sustain more active lifestyles, which likely helped them spread and diversify across land environments.

From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2026

Locked glass display cases held rings and necklaces and brooches, and a few guitars and banjos hung on the pine-board-paneled walls to diversify the merchandise.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Related Words

• expand
• transform