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 measure could incentivize lawmakers to save more money because funds tucked away in the rainy day fund would no longer be considered expenditures counted toward the spending limit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
“The concept, for us, is impact litigation. When the Civil Rights Division wins a case, everybody else stops engaging in the bad behavior. When we win that case, we incentivize private parties.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
The idea of guaranteeing future demand to incentivize innovation was borrowed from vaccine development.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee pointed out that Seagate has stopped providing discounts to incentivize customers to adopt next-generation products.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
Parents can also incentivize their children to invest more.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 8, 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 concern is that they will be incentivized to strike deals that help the companies they own, or expose themselves to allegations of self-dealing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Unlike Anthropic and OpenAI, which Kharazian said are incentivized to make users spend as much as possible on tokens, Cursor allows users to toggle between smarter but more expensive models and cheaper alternatives.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026
Those headlines attracted the kind of crowd more interested in drama than the fights themselves, which in turn incentivized more drama: a spiral that eventually changed the feel of the entire sport.
From Slate ● Jun. 14, 2026
Influencers are often incentivized to amplify sensational rumors, which can attract followers and increase earnings on revenue-sharing platforms like X.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
She supports expanding clean transit options, incentivizing employers to adopt flexible work policies to reduce commute emissions, deploying smart traffic technology and giving small businesses tiered time lines and tax credits to transition.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 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
Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s Workers’ Rights Bill in 2025 had the unintended effect of discouraging employers from making permanent hires and instead incentivizing them to take workers on as sub-contractors.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 15, 2026
By doing these things you are incentivizing him to behave more badly in the future.
From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2026
Higher aluminum prices outside of China are also incentivizing producers there to export more, which mitigates some of the global supply risks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 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.
