maximize
Americanverb (used with object)
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maximizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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maximized,
past participle, past
-
maximizing
present participle
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to increase to the greatest possible amount or degree.
to look for ways of maximizing profit.
-
to represent at the highest possible estimate; magnify.
He maximized his importance in the program, minimizing the contributions of the other participants.
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to make the greatest or fullest use of.
Maximize your time by planning ahead.
verb
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(tr) to make as high or great as possible; increase to a maximum
-
maths to find the maximum of (a function)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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maximizesimple
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maximizessimple
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have maximizedperfect
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has maximizedperfect
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am maximizingprogressive
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are maximizingprogressive
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is maximizingprogressive
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have been maximizingperfect progressive
-
has been maximizingperfect progressive
Past
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maximizedsimple
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had maximizedperfect
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was maximizingprogressive
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were maximizingprogressive
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had been maximizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of maximize
Explanation
When you maximize something, you make it as big as you possibly can, the way you would maximize your chances of winning the lottery if you spent all of your money on lottery tickets. It seems like you come across the word maximize most often in dry, boring contexts like businesses trying to "maximize" their profits or a politician wanting to "maximize" her government's potential. Regular people probably use it more often when they're talking about their computers, to mean "display a window at its largest size." When you maximize a window on your computer, you can actually see what the word means!
Vocabulary lists containing maximize
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Workshop 2, Part 1
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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 Spirit spokesperson said the airline was pleased to resolve the labor objections over the “sale of deidentified data” as it seeks to maximize value for creditors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026
We are encouraged to delay our dream life, save more, work longer and maximize our retirement contributions until our required minimum distributions kick in.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2026
Importantly, control of the Senate in January was uncertain at the time owing to two pending runoffs in Georgia, so Democrats lacked an incentive to maximize their opposition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
Advocates say it would help maximize daylight hours for activities after work and school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026
The buildings, in fact, had been designed to maximize the salvage value of their components.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Another lesson: Picking an unshaded, south-facing surface in a yard or on a roof maximizes energy production through the day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Banana Ball is fast-paced, hilarious and maximizes fan engagement.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
This approach maximizes bandwidth efficiency and adapts to changes in signal quality.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 2, 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
Intensive agriculture is much more productive but maximizes the land’s exposure.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Foulkes said Mercury replaced some metal components with composite or polymer materials, and came up with aluminum alloys that maximized strength while remaining relatively lightweight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
In this case, HP also raised prices, maximized the value of the inventory it already had, and tried to push demand to higher-margin products.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
The effect of clipping is context collapse maximized to further a hasty impression of a vaguely famous person.
From Slate ● May 6, 2026
Hopkinson told the Financial Times Business of Football Summit last month that Newcastle had not "maximized the opportunity before it".
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026
Each side minimized its own and maximized the enemy's.
From The Great Fortress : A chronicle of Louisbourg 1720-1760 by William Charles Henry Wood
To illustrate the embryonic technology’s potential danger, Mr. Bostrom imagines a superintelligent machine that is given the objective of maximizing production of paper clips.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
That can make maximizing the owner’s contribution expensive.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
“You’re just reaching the next level, you know? You’re maximizing your character.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
This trade-off almost always falls on the side of maximizing your reach and volume.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
To judge from their behavior, all the rating agencies worried about was maximizing the number of deals they rated for Wall Street investment banks, and the fees they collected from them.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
