globalization

American  

[gloh-buh-luh-zey-shuhn] / ˌgloʊ bə ləˈzeɪ ʃən /

especially British, globalisation

noun

1. the act of globalizing, or extending to other or all parts of the world.

   the globalization of manufacturing.

2. worldwide integration and development.

   Globablization has resulted in the loss of some individual cultural identities.

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globalization British  

/ ˌɡləʊbəlaɪˈzeɪʃən /

noun

1. the process enabling financial and investment markets to operate internationally, largely as a result of deregulation and improved communications

2. the emergence since the 1980s of a single world market dominated by multinational companies, leading to a diminishing capacity for national governments to control their economies

3. the process by which a company, etc, expands to operate internationally

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Etymology

Origin of globalization

First recorded in 1925–30; global ( def. ) + -ization ( def. )

Example Sentences

As World Bank Chief Economist Indermit Gill wrote in a new report, that conclusion helped “stigmatize” industrial policy just as a leap forward in transport and communications technologies spurred a period of intense globalization.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

For roughly 35 years after the Cold War, globalization favored efficiency.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026

When we think about globalization only as a tax-avoidance scheme and talk only about the back and forth flow of container ships, we miss the defining feature of the U.S. model.

From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026

The chief worry for White is that until 2020 most supply shocks were positive and disinflationary, as globalization and efficient supply chains kept prices in abeyance.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 7, 2026

The impact of globalization and deindustrialization was felt most strongly in black inner-city communities.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander