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mechanize

[mek-uh-nahyz]
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verb (used with object), mech·a·nized, mech·a·niz·ing.
  1. to make mechanical.
  2. to operate or perform by or as if by machinery.
  3. to introduce machinery into (an industry, enterprise, etc.), especially in order to replace manual labor.
  4. Military. to equip with tanks and other armored vehicles.
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Also especially British, mech·a·nise.

Origin of mechanize

First recorded in 1695–1705; mechan(ic) + -ize
Related formsmech·a·ni·za·tion, nounmech·a·niz·er, nounan·ti·mech·a·ni·za·tion, adjectiveun·mech·a·nized, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for mechanize

Historical Examples

  • "Tell the packers to mechanize their slaughtering," Gelsen said.

    Watchbird

    Robert Sheckley

  • The action of reason, on the other hand, is to mechanize or materialize.

    Tragic Sense Of Life

    Miguel de Unamuno

  • To have skill at the piano, we must mechanize many performances.

    The Science of Human Nature

    William Henry Pyle

  • Rural mechanics too idle to mechanize, rural servants too rebellious to serve, drifted or were forced into Mixen Lane.

  • Or they are reduced to a stereotyped repertory that is easy to mechanize, to automate, and finally, to do away with.

British Dictionary definitions for mechanize

mechanize

mechanise

verb (tr)
  1. to equip (a factory, industry, etc) with machinery
  2. to make mechanical, automatic, or monotonous
  3. to equip (an army, etc) with motorized or armoured vehicles
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Derived Formsmechanization or mechanisation, nounmechanizer or mechaniser, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mechanize

v.

1670s; see mechanic (adj.) + -ize. Related: Mechanized; mechanizing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper