synchronize

American  

[sing-kruh-nahyz] / ˈsɪŋ krəˌnaɪz /

especially British, synchronise

verb (used with object)

• synchronizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• synchronized,
  past participle,  past
• synchronizing
  present participle

1. to cause to indicate the same time, as one timepiece with another.

   Synchronize your watches.

2. to cause to go on, move, operate, work, etc., at the same rate and exactly together.

   They synchronized their steps and walked on together.

3. Movies, Television.

   1. to cause (sound and action) to match precisely.

      to synchronize the sound of footsteps with the actor's movements.

   2. to match the sound and action in (a scene).

4. to harmonize or bring into alignment.

   To be at peace with yourself you must synchronize your lifestyle with your values.

5. to cause (accounts or narratives) to agree in the timing and sequence of events, or to arrange (events) in a way that shows their occurrence in the same time or period.

   The early church fathers did not attempt to synchronize the four gospels.

   This chart synchronizes inventions that occurred simultaneously in different parts of the world.

6. Computers. sync.

7. to adjust the periodicities of (two or more electrical or mechanical devices) so that the periods are equal or integral multiples or fractions of each other.

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verb (used without object)

• synchronizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• synchronized,
  past participle,  past
• synchronizing
  present participle

1. to occur at the same time or coincide or agree in time.

2. to go on, move, operate, work, etc., at the same rate and exactly together; recur together.

3. Computers. sync.

synchronize British  

/ ˈsɪŋkrəˌnaɪz /

verb

1. to occur or recur or cause to occur or recur at the same time or in unison

2. to indicate or cause to indicate the same time

   synchronize your watches

3. to download files, esp music or video files, from a PC to a portable device such as an iPod, or to upload files from the device to a PC

4. (tr) films to establish (the picture and soundtrack records) in their correct relative position

5. (tr) to designate (events) as simultaneous

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• desynchronization
  noun
• synchronization
  noun
• synchronizer
  noun
• desynchronize
  verb (used with object)
• unsynchronized
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• synchronizing
  present
• synchronized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• synchronize
  simple
• synchronizes
  simple
• have synchronized
  perfect
• has synchronized
  perfect
• am synchronizing
  progressive
• are synchronizing
  progressive
• is synchronizing
  progressive
• have been synchronizing
  perfect progressive
• has been synchronizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• synchronized
  simple
• had synchronized
  perfect
• was synchronizing
  progressive
• were synchronizing
  progressive
• had been synchronizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will synchronize
  simple
• will have synchronized
  perfect
• will be synchronizing
  progressive
• will have been synchronizing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of synchronize

First recorded in 1615–25; from Greek synchronízein “to be contemporary with”; from sýnchron(os) synchronous + -izein -ize

Explanation

When you synchronize things, you make them happen at the same time. If you have rhythm, you can synchronize your dance moves with the beat of the music. If not, stay off the dance floor. Synchronize, pronounced "SINK-ruh-nize," means "to make things happen at the same time" — even down to a fraction of a second, as in synchronized swimming. In that sport, one movement that doesn't sync, or match up, costs the swimmers points. When you synchronize your wristwatches, people can't blame their watches being fast or slow if they don't come to the meeting spot at the right time.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

synchronize synchronizes synchronized synchronizing

The findings reveal the many ways animals exchange information to synchronize their behavior and maintain partnerships that benefit both sides.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 20, 2026

A wave of teacher contracts is up for renegotiation now, thanks to a strategy the unions implemented a few years ago to synchronize expiration dates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026

One powerful solution is to synchronize AI’s huge power needs with the public grid’s real-time stress level.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2025

In studies conducted by Yuko Hattori, an assistant professor at Kyoto University’s Primate Research Institute, chimpanzees were able to synchronize their movement to a variety of rhythms.

From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2025

How could they possibly synchronize a meeting with their friends?

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Today, GPS serves as a foundational macroeconomic pillar: It manages international supply chains, synchronizes global cellular networks, guides autonomous agricultural machinery and timestamps high-frequency trades on Wall Street.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

But during a seizure, the chatter synchronizes into loud bursts of electrical activity that overwhelm the brain's casual conversation.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 15, 2024

“Daylight exposure synchronizes our internal clock with the external environment, reinforcing our sleep-wake cycle,” he told The Times over email.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2024

This clock synchronizes and coordinates our body’s circadian rhythms, which help us prepare for things that happen at various times of day — such as falling asleep at night and waking up in the morning.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 3, 2023

Its commencement synchronizes with the centenary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s Mission.

From Messages to the Bahá’í World: 1950–1957 by Shoghi Effendi

Research has linked synchronized movement with social bonding and increased pain thresholds, while studies of dance and movement therapy have found benefits for depression, anxiety and interpersonal functioning.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

In G 203-47, however, the red dwarf rotates far too slowly to be synchronized with its orbit.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

“When you have a more robust light signal early in the morning, that will help keep your internal circadian system synchronized to the day.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

There are also synchronized motocross jumps in front of the White House, which feels like a 12-year-old’s doodle come to life.

From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026

They began to pull in long, sweet, precisely synchronized strokes, rowing at a composed beat of thirty-three.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

PepsiCo anticipates retraining and redeploying some drivers to other types of work, including managing the new equipment, synchronizing the movement of people who go to the stores, or handling the unloading themselves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026

The big draw of space for data centers is power supply, with the option of synchronizing satellites to the sun's orbit to ensure constant light on solar panels.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2025

Another way, which has been studied more, is to see if they are capable of synchronizing to beats in a rhythm, Honing said.

From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2025

That stop signal, which reaches all the excitatory neurons simultaneously, only lasts so long, ends up synchronizing their activity, producing a coordinated gamma brain wave.

From Science Daily ● May 21, 2024

Establishing these three calendars required advances in astronomy; synchronizing them required ventures into mathematics.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• adjust
• harmonize
• integrate
• mesh