localize

American  

[loh-kuh-lahyz] / ˈloʊ kəˌlaɪz /

especially British, localise

verb (used with object)

localized, localizing

1. to make local; fix in, or assign or restrict to, a particular place, locality, etc.

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verb (used without object)

localized, localizing

1. to gather, collect, or concentrate in one locality.

localize British  

/ ˈləʊkəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. to make or become local in attitude, behaviour, etc

2. (tr) to restrict or confine (something) to a particular area or part

3. (tr) to assign or ascribe to a particular region

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Other Word Forms

• localizable
  adjective
• localization
  noun
• localizer
  noun
• nonlocalizable
  adjective
• nonlocalized
  adjective
• unlocalizable
  adjective
• unlocalize
  verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of localize

First recorded in 1785–95; local + -ize

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.

Example Sentences

The material was designed to localize to injured tissue by binding to leaky microvasculature and was largely degraded within about three days.

From Science Daily • May 5, 2026

Fragmentation compels banks and asset managers to localize balance sheets and hold excess capital, constraining cross-border intermediation and dampening growth.

From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026

Netflix is already using generative AI to improve the quality of its title recommendations, localize show and film promotional materials globally and assist filmmakers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 21, 2025

They acknowledge and make efforts to localize experiences for American fans.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2024

The amoeba deforms itself in varying directions; its entire mass does what the differentiation of parts will localize in a sensori-motor system in the developed animal.

From Creative Evolution by Mitchell, Arthur