localize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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to make or become local in attitude, behaviour, etc
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(tr) to restrict or confine (something) to a particular area or part
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(tr) to assign or ascribe to a particular region
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of localize
Explanation
To localize is to focus on a small, specific area. The newspaper in your city might localize half of their news coverage, concentrating on just your state. A doctor or dentist will localize pain treatment in certain cases, like when you get a novocaine shot in your gums before getting a cavity filled. Rather than a general painkiller affecting your whole body, this focuses only on the part of your mouth that's affected. You can also localize by adapting something to a specific location. A rural school might localize its schedule by opening later in the fall to allow students to help on family farms, for example.
Vocabulary lists containing localize
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.
He is pressing ahead with a roughly $30 million expansion of his factory in Tennessee, convinced that he needs to localize more production in the U.S. to sidestep tariffs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026
Both T1 Energy and Canadian Solar are working to localize supply chains to meet tax bill requirements and secure government incentives.
From Barron's • Dec. 9, 2025
They acknowledge and make efforts to localize experiences for American fans.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2024
Unlike previous methods, their technique ensures that the immune cell stimulating cytokines effectively localize within the tumors for weeks while preserving the cytokine's structure and reactivity levels.
From Science Daily • Apr. 19, 2024
She strove very hard to, as she termed it, localize her sister’s changes of mood, and in this she was not without a measure of success.
From The Law-Breakers by Cullum, Ridgwell
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.