itemize
Americanverb (used with object)
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itemizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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itemized,
past participle, past
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itemizing
present participle
verb (used without object)
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itemizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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itemized,
past participle, past
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itemizing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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itemizationnoun
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itemizernoun
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nonitemizernoun
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reitemizeverb (used with object)
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misitemizedadjective
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nonitemizedadjective
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unitemizedadjective
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well-itemizedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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itemizesimple
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itemizessimple
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have itemizedperfect
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has itemizedperfect
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am itemizingprogressive
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are itemizingprogressive
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is itemizingprogressive
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have been itemizingperfect progressive
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has been itemizingperfect progressive
Past
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itemizedsimple
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had itemizedperfect
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was itemizingprogressive
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were itemizingprogressive
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had been itemizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of itemize
Explanation
To itemize is to make a list. If you work at a store that sells pet fish, you might need to itemize your stock of fish — separately listing the number of goldfish, cuttlefish, and jellyfish. When you place items, or individual things, on a list, you itemize them. Though itemize is essentially a synonym for list, it is usually used for more formal situations and those related to budget. So itemize your tax deductions or your spending report, or even itemize the reactions of your chemistry experiment. But to itemize your complaints about your little brother is probably going overboard.
Vocabulary lists containing itemize
Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - High School
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - Middle School
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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.
See Examples For:
A DAF can make sense for people who aren’t ultrawealthy if they plan to give to charity and itemize deductions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
This increases the odds you itemize, clears the future AGI floor, and maximizes deductions while the rules are more favorable.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026
This deduction applies whether or not you itemize.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
They are available both to taxpayers who take the standard deduction and those who itemize their deductions.
From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026
When Uncle Al discovers that city officials have yet to itemize the Fox Brothers baggage stock, a handful of nondescript horses get spirited from one stable tent to another.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Further, regardless of whether one itemizes or uses the standard deduction, an additional $6,000 deduction is available to many taxpayers over 65.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
It identifies when we lift a product from a shelf, freezer or produce bin, automatically itemizes the goods and charges us when we leave the store.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 28, 2022
The source for that, we suspect, may be Barry’s wife, Seema, the latter half of a couple Shteyngart itemizes as “one powerful, the other beautiful.”
From New York Times ● Sep. 5, 2018
The Fourth Republic that emerged largely after his resignation from government was, as Jackson itemizes, far more of a success than is often allowed.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 13, 2018
Each involved element of the emergency organization details its response actions in Service Support Plans and itemizes functions appropriate to the specific contingency.
Their itemized deductions in the funding year is significantly higher than the standard deduction, so much so that it pushes out of the 22% bracket and into the 12%.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
It’s part of the broader “office” category, and to find the data-center expenditure, there’s a separate set of itemized data called value put in place.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
The client gave up after Schwartz presented him with an itemized bill and suggested he direct his resources elsewhere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
Another change in the new tax law limited the tax benefit of itemized deductions for those in the highest tax bracket to 35%, rather than the previous 37%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
Mrs. Reilly took the sheet of paper and read the typed column of itemized figures beneath the contractor’s letterhead.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
This goes back to the hassle of itemizing donations.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 11, 2026
I’ve found myself calculating the social risk, itemizing what would work in our favor.
From Slate ● Feb. 19, 2026
If you claim the standard deduction instead of itemizing, there’s good news: Starting next year, you can snag a charitable deduction for cash gifts on top of the standard deduction for the first time.
From Barron's ● Nov. 25, 2025
Most filers save money by taking the standard deduction instead of itemizing deductions, which can include charitable donations and medical expenses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
I first gave a general overview of my travels, itemizing the money we had received and the offers of training.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
