incentivize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Etymology
Origin of incentivize
An Americanism dating back to 1965–70
Explanation
To incentivize is to provide a reward or motivation for some action. Your teacher might incentivize the class by offering jelly beans to everyone who aces the next math quiz. Incentivize was first used in around 1970 as business jargon, and some still consider it to be annoying corporate lingo. It’s a legitimate word, though, made into a verb by adding -ize to incentive, which means "something that motivates or encourages." You might incentivize your dog to sit by giving her a treat every time she does it, or incentivize your brother to do your chores by offering him half your allowance as payment.
Vocabulary lists containing incentivize
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.
See Examples For:
The effort is meant to incentivize Goldman’s units to steer business to each other and has boosted revenue across the firm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
“As U.S. diesel stocks near storage limits, downward pressure on diesel prices would intensify, compressing U.S. refining margins, and likely incentivize U.S. refiners to reduce output,” the team wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
It also stacks an additional $15,000 credit for each new hire, to incentivize expanding journalist head counts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
I’m kidding: Even under normal circumstances, giving private companies this much power is likely to incentivize inventing enemies to fight or drive unnecessary spending.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
“For me, this is a way to incentivize to slow people down,” McKinnor said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
The setup, Anthropic has said, “can ensure that the organizational leadership is incentivized to carefully evaluate future models for catastrophic risks … rather than prioritizing being the first to market above all other objectives.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
This update incentivized lengthy carousels of multi-image posts, especially with some educational content attached that encourages viewer engagement via swipes or saves.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
Weary of venomous snake bites, British authorities put a bounty on dead cobras — but this only incentivized locals to breed more of the snakes, in order to collect even more reward money.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
Because leased customers are locked into the Apple ecosystem for the duration of their agreement, they could be incentivized to buy AppleCare insurance from the company.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
“While there is still much work to do, FilmLA’s quarterly report is proof that incentives are working: local incentivized productions are on the rise,” said L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
The organization has faced criticism for incentivizing schools to be highly selective and focus on admitting students already likely to succeed instead of working to improve students’ outcomes.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
This is part of a broader initiative to make sure the firm is incentivizing the behavior that it says matters most going forward.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
By incentivizing the purchase of a new electric vehicle, that will encourage new production, which means more EVs on the road.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
The wearables integrate with other Apple devices, like the iPhone, incentivizing purchases and giving Apple one of the most sticky ecosystems in tech.
From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026
By doing these things you are incentivizing him to behave more badly in the future.
From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2026
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.
