finalize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
-
(tr) to put into final form; settle
to finalize plans for the merger
-
(intr) to complete arrangements or negotiations; reach agreement on a transaction
Spelling
See -ize.
Usage
Although finalize has been in widespread use for some time, many speakers and writers still prefer to use complete, conclude , or make final , esp in formal contexts
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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finalizesimple
-
finalizessimple
-
have finalizedperfect
-
has finalizedperfect
-
am finalizingprogressive
-
are finalizingprogressive
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is finalizingprogressive
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have been finalizingperfect progressive
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has been finalizingperfect progressive
Past
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finalizedsimple
-
had finalizedperfect
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was finalizingprogressive
-
were finalizingprogressive
-
had been finalizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of finalize
Explanation
When you put the finishing touches on something, such as agreeing on a specific time and place to meet your friend on Saturday, you finalize your plans. The word finalize is relatively new, and often people choose to use the words conclude or complete instead, maybe because finalize seems a little fake to them. In the 1920s, an Australian writer took the word final, meaning the very last, and the suffix -ize, and stuck them together to make finalize. Before long it showed up in dictionaries, and the invention of the word was finalized.
Vocabulary lists containing finalize
This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for December 19–25, 2020
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for November 10–November 16, 2024
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ize
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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.
The two sides still have to finalize agreements spelling out the services that will be provided at each venue by July 2027.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 27, 2026
The final tender results aren’t due until early July and a deal could take until 2027 to finalize.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 17, 2026
Cipriano, Chakrabarti and Byford will attempt to finalize a design that will, in turn, determine the project’s budget and timetable.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026
The process -- and the sheer size of the state of 40 million residents -- means California is always slow to finalize results, a fact that frustrates voters of all stripes.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
He needed only to tweak a radical to finalize the formula.
From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green
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.
