maximize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
maximizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
maximized,
past participle, past
-
maximizing
present participle
-
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.
-
to make the greatest or fullest use of.
Maximize your time by planning ahead.
verb
-
(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
-
maximizesimple
-
maximizessimple
-
have maximizedperfect
-
has maximizedperfect
-
am maximizingprogressive
-
are maximizingprogressive
-
is maximizingprogressive
-
have been maximizingperfect progressive
-
has been maximizingperfect progressive
Past
-
maximizedsimple
-
had maximizedperfect
-
was maximizingprogressive
-
were maximizingprogressive
-
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
Scrabble: High Scoring Words
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
20 Common Words That Will Boost Your Scrabble Score
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Workshop 2, Part 1
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Apple often tailors components to its devices to maximize performance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
“FIFA’s responsibility is not to maximize commercial returns at any cost. It is to protect and strengthen football for future generations.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
“To maximize the impact of currency intervention, monetary policy must align in the same direction,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
At the very minimum, set your contribution rate to at least maximize any match your employer offers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
They wanted to maximize support for the shoulders, so the back of the chair was wider at the top than at the bottom.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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
“The WBD Board has been guided by the singular principle of securing a transaction that maximizes the value of our iconic assets and delivers as much certainty as possible to our shareholders,” Warner Bros.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 26, 2026
The bank forecasts sales of $2 billion by 2027, but says the number could be as high as $6 billion so long as Novo maximizes its head start over its closest rival.
From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026
Intensive agriculture is much more productive but maximizes the land’s exposure.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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
For example, Lilly executives thought they had maximized production of tirzepatide, the main ingredient in its top-selling weight loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound, to meet the explosive demand that led to widespread shortages early on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 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
Saxon maximized the disarming appeal of the snub-nosed monkey by giving his adorable Baby Ochi larger eyes and ears.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2025
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
“We’re coming up with new ways on how to improve and maximizing potential,” Anderson said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Instead of attempting full reusability from the beginning, the design focuses on partial reuse while maximizing efficiency.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
Restructuring is particularly tough for a company where maximizing German employment has long appeared to be as high a priority as the traditional corporate goal of maximizing profit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Most break-even analyses focus on maximizing the total amount you receive from Social Security over your lifetime.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 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
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.
