popularize

American

[pop-yuh-luh-rahyz] / ˈpɒp yə ləˌraɪz /

especially British, popularise

verb (used with object)

popularized, popularizing

to make popular.

to popularize a dance.

popularize British

/ ˈpɒpjʊləˌraɪz /

verb

to make popular; make attractive to the general public
to make or cause to become easily understandable or acceptable

"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

Other Word Forms

antipopularization adjective
depopularize verb (used with object)
popularization noun
popularizer noun
repopularization noun
repopularize verb (used with object)
semipopularized adjective
unpopularized adjective

Etymology

Origin of popularize

First recorded in 1585–95; popular + -ize

Vocabulary lists containing popularize

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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.

Since Robinhood helped popularize commission-free trading, introducing a new generation of investors to buying and selling securities on their smartphones, trading volumes in U.S. equity options have exploded.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 24, 2026

Sherry Zhu, 23, helped popularize habits like drinking hot water, eating boiled apples and wearing slippers around the house.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026

Early advertising campaigns helped popularize terms like "litterbug," while today the focus has shifted to "chemical recycling," promoted by industry as a way to break plastics down into their basic building blocks.

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026

The 14-year-old tech company is still losing money and has seen its share price tumble as it barrels forward to popularize augmented reality glasses next year.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 26, 2025

Pilar Ternera was the one who contributed most to popularize that mystification when she conceived the trick of reading the past in cards as she had read the future before.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023