mechanize

especially British, mech·a·nise

[mek-uh-nahyz]

verb (used with object)

mechanized, mechanizing 

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.

mechanize

/ ˈmɛkəˌnaɪz /

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• mechanization noun
• mechanizer noun
• unmechanized adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mechanize¹

First recorded in 1695–1705; mechan(ic) + -ize

Example Sentences

These fortunes underpinned the first large-scale mechanized textile production, completely replacing household production for the first time in U.S. history.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He views his mechanized human and his co-star’s android as opposites with an equal vision.

Read more on Salon

As mechanized as a race — or a movie — can feel, success or failure hinge on the human element, the hero battling the gremlins in the machine.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In a crowning irony, even at the expense of 14.5 million lives lost, fully mechanized Soviet agriculture was no more efficient than the system it replaced.

Read more on Salon

Bong and his team designed the spaceship, the Drakkar, to feel both futuristic and oppressively bureaucratic, like a deep-space factory where human life is mechanized and survival is optimized at the cost of individuality.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• industrialize 
• motorize