optimize
Americanverb (used with object)
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optimizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
optimized,
past participle, past
-
optimizing
present participle
-
to make as effective, perfect, or useful as possible.
-
to make the best of.
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Computers. to write or rewrite (the instructions in a program) so as to maximize efficiency and speed in retrieval, storage, or execution.
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Mathematics. to determine the maximum or minimum values of (a specified function that is subject to certain constraints).
verb (used without object)
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optimizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
optimized,
past participle, past
-
optimizing
present participle
verb
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(tr) to take the full advantage of
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(tr) to plan or carry out (an economic activity) with maximum efficiency
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(intr) to be optimistic
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(tr) to write or modify (a computer program) to achieve maximum efficiency in storage capacity, time, cost, etc
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(tr) to find the best compromise among several often conflicting requirements, as in engineering design
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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optimizesimple
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optimizessimple
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have optimizedperfect
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has optimizedperfect
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am optimizingprogressive
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are optimizingprogressive
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is optimizingprogressive
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have been optimizingperfect progressive
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has been optimizingperfect progressive
Past
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optimizedsimple
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had optimizedperfect
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was optimizingprogressive
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were optimizingprogressive
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had been optimizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of optimize
Explanation
Optimize means to make the best possible use of something. If you optimize your home storage capacity, you clean and organize your closets and drawers to be able to fit the most in. Before the advent of the Internet, the word optimize was mostly used to describe the act of being really positive about the world, or being an optimist. But today one can scarcely hear the word without thinking about how to optimize a website or make it as efficient as possible. SEO, standing for "search engine optimization," refers to this process of optimizing a website to make it appear more frequently in web searches.
Vocabulary lists containing optimize
Engineering - Introductory
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Engineering: Defining Problems and Designing Solutions - Introductory
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Mathematical Modeling
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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:
We’re all sitting at home sipping adaptogenic mushroom tonics, journaling our feelings and politely declining invitations to any event after 7 p.m. because we’d rather optimize our sleep scores than take a tequila shot.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
To offset the impact of declining unit sales, Lenovo will raise average selling prices, optimize premium product mix and focus on gaining market share, the analysts say, citing management.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
These days it’s customary for companies’ earnings reports to include updates on how AI is being used to scan geological data and optimize production.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
These adaptations evolved to optimize energy storage and usage in environments with fluctuating food availability.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
He taught her how to tell time and direction from the stars, and she showed him how to open the expert software in the boards to optimize them for night travel.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
Evolution optimizes “for survival rather than elegance,” he writes, and our biology shows it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
He expects Nestlé’s revenue growth to reaccelerate as it optimizes its portfolio around areas like coffee and pet care.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
He’s the person who builds things, not one who optimizes supply chains.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 21, 2026
Mattel said the job cuts are part of an effort to save money as the company optimizes for growth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026
Such a structure is generated by the technological implementation of the brain, and it optimizes the activity of the brain in a section of the external reality.
From The Brain, A Decoded Enigma by Dorin Teodor Moisa
The researchers have also optimized the plenoptic camera to expand its field of view and collect more light.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
The new AI accelerator is optimized to meet the demands of current and future AI models, OpenAI said, adding that engineering samples are now running machine learning workloads, including its GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark text-only coding model.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026
“The acquisition is expected to strengthen Qualcomm Technologies’ ability to deliver a more optimized AI compute layer across a broad range of platforms and use cases,” Qualcomm said in a statement Wednesday.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
Some in the industry said they doubted LineShine could match dedicated AI supercomputers because the hardware in those systems is optimized for training today’s AI models.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
The members decided to fund two machines of different sizes, each optimized to produce different particles; the only question left was which lab would build which machine.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
"I think we'll get to a point where if I have to request headcount, I'll be asked, 'How are you optimizing AI?'" before any new hire is approved, Euller told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
But in hindsight, I was optimizing for a travel lifestyle that I wasn’t really living, and I would have been better off picking a card that offered more of what I needed: free cash.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
Excelling at work and yardwork fits the modern professional’s fixation on optimizing everything.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Future studies are expected to focus on orthotopic validation, optimizing dosing strategies, tracking nitric oxide activity over longer periods, and investigating the underlying mechanisms in additional central nervous system tumor models.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 27, 2026
Twin Cities job market analyst Kristine Jacobs pinpoints what she calls the “money taboo” as a major factor preventing workers from optimizing their earnings.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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.
