professionalize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of professionalize
First recorded in 1855–60; professional + -ize
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:
Harfuch "sought to professionalize, to modernize the intelligence agency to go after crimes," said Gerardo Rodriguez, an academic expert in national security who met Harfuch in 2018.
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
One of the efforts to professionalize the process is ICEList, a web database created by Dominick Skinner, an Irish activist based in the Netherlands.
From Slate ● Jan. 28, 2026
But he crafted a national strategy to strengthen and professionalize the military, restore the presence and authority of the state across the country, and deliver what he called “democratic security.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2025
An administration official insisted that Biden and Harris remain committed to both human rights and immigration enforcement, pointing to specific efforts to curb extrajudicial killings and professionalize security forces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2024
Shawn wanted to professionalize the operation, to invest the profits from the Malad job in new equipment; Dad wanted things to stay the same.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
As U.S. foreign policy became more professionalized, some historians have argued, the role of overseeing and executing it became a better fit for capable administrators than aspiring presidents.
From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2026
He went on to Harvard Business School, and professionalized his knack for assessing risk and knowing when to bet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026
“In one sense, it professionalized Zulily. It made that leap from mid-startup to ‘we have to be serious now,’ ” the former engineer said.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 3, 2024
Iberdrola, an electric utility giant, and others stepped up with generous corporate support, a $10-million media-rights package was signed and the country’s women’s league was professionalized.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2023
Around this time—1834—the word scientist was first coined, beginning an era that gradually professionalized the study of the natural world, and began to divide it into ever more specialized fields.
From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman
Delo said the funding would allow Reform to spend £1 million a month professionalizing the party ahead of the 2029 election.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
But experts question whether her strategies — expanding community policing and professionalizing cops — would transfer to a national level.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2024
At what point does professionalizing our personal lives leech them of any spirit or spontaneity?
From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2023
In the seventeenth century, as its enemies grew stronger, the empire became more inward-looking, focusing less on external expansion and more on resolving domestic affairs, professionalizing its bureaucracy, and conducting internal reforms.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022
In 1996, the government focused its attention on implementing an ambitious economic reform program and professionalizing its parliament.
From The 1999 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency
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.
