organize

American  

[awr-guh-nahyz] / ˈɔr gəˌnaɪz /

especially British, organise

verb (used with object)

organizes, present (3rd person singular) organized, past participle, past organizing present participle

1. to form as or into a whole consisting of interdependent or coordinated parts, especially for united action.

   to organize a committee.

   Synonyms:

   frame, dispose

   Antonyms:

   destroy

2. to systematize.

   to organize the files of an office.

   Synonyms:

   order

3. to give organic structure or character to.

   Cells become differentiated and organized into tissues.

4. to enlist or attempt to enlist into a labor union.

   to organize workers.

5. to enlist the employees of (a company) into a labor union; unionize.

   to organize a factory.

6. Informal. to put (oneself ) in a state of mental competence to perform a task.

   We can't have any slip-ups, so you'd better get organized.

---

verb (used without object)

organizes, present (3rd person singular) organized, past participle, past organizing present participle

1. to combine in an organized company, party, or the like.

2. to form a labor union.

   Management resisted all efforts to organize.

3. to assume organic structure.

organize British  

/ ˈɔːɡəˌnaɪz /

verb

1. to form (parts or elements of something) into a structured whole; coordinate

2. (tr) to arrange methodically or in order

3. (tr) to provide with an organic structure

4. (tr) to enlist (the workers) of (a factory, concern, or industry) in a trade union

5. (intr) to join or form an organization or trade union

6. informal (tr) to put (oneself) in an alert and responsible frame of mind

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• organizability
  noun
• misorganize
  verb
• preorganize
  verb
• outorganize
  verb (used with object)
• organizable
  adjective
• unorganizable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• organizing
  present
• organized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• organize
  simple
• organizes
  simple
• have organized
  perfect
• has organized
  perfect
• am organizing
  progressive
• are organizing
  progressive
• is organizing
  progressive
• have been organizing
  perfect progressive
• has been organizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• organized
  simple
• had organized
  perfect
• was organizing
  progressive
• were organizing
  progressive
• had been organizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will organize
  simple
• will have organized
  perfect
• will be organizing
  progressive
• will have been organizing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of organize

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin organizāre “to contrive, arrange,” equivalent to organ(um) organ + -izāre -ize

Explanation

If you systematically put something in order, you organize it. Your family might not understand the way you organize your kitchen if you keep shoelaces, dental floss, and a screwdriver in your silverware drawer. The verb organize also means to plan or orchestrate something. If you've agreed to organize the German club's bake sale, you'll probably spend some serious time transporting cupcakes and linzer torte to school. When a group of workers forms a union, this action is also described with the verb organize. The International Ladies Garment Workers Union, for example, was organized in 1900 in New York City by immigrant factory workers.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

organize organizes organized organizing

Movements argue about the Constitution, organize around it, and sometimes make claims powerful enough that courts later recognize them as law.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

It was his idea to organize a food drive on Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon in the school parking lot, encouraging anyone and everyone to bring canned goods to help out his community.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

He helped organize the colonies’ resistance to Britain, but stopped short of supporting independence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Clients often hear financial planners talk in terms of designating different buckets of money to organize a portfolio.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

He knew he was making a complete ass out of himself but had no idea how to organize a retreat at this juncture of the conversation.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents Association which organizes the dinner, said in June as she announced the re-do that "we will not allow an act of violence to have the last word."

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

The researchers conclude that tau should be viewed not only as a protein involved in Alzheimer's disease, but also as a fundamental regulator of how the brain organizes, stores, and retrieves lasting memories.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026

How should we think about the information that fills the internet and organizes the way we live?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

For now, the overhaul represents a quiet but notable shift in how one of the country’s largest institutions organizes one of its most personal categories: belief.

From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026

Most of the time, though, she organizes workers to help the factionless with food and shelter and job opportunities.

From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

“You can really see the impact she had on them,” said Kellie Jones, a scholar and independent curator who organized “Now Dig This!: Art and Black Los Angeles 1960-1980” at the Hammer Museum in 2011.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

A longtime ally of organized labor, Jackson also had Maine unions heavily organizing for him.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

The results suggest that Shimao's social hierarchy was organized through patrilineal descent, meaning ancestry and status were traced through fathers.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

Their endorsed candidates win because they run lean, organized campaigns that talk directly to voters about concrete problems.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Their mechanics took a record player with them as they moved from base to base; one of them, Sonya Tishurova, organized a group who performed national dances from different states in the USSR.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

In the retina, these circuits begin organizing visual signals before they even reach the brain, helping identify features such as brightness, contrast, movement, and shape.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026

Holliday spends her volunteer time socializing over coffee and the newspaper, helping residents run errands, leading fitness classes on Saturday mornings and organizing game nights.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

A longtime ally of organized labor, Jackson also had Maine unions heavily organizing for him.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

These seniors are former high-level workers in government and scientific fields who have an excellent understanding of the politics driving the administration’s agenda, and they are organizing to protest it.

From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026

Mom went to school to see Mr. French, who was in charge of organizing the teams for our school.

From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge

Related Words

• construct
• coordinate
• create
• establish
• form
• formulate
• regulate
• run
• set up