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
In Ukraine, the added financial firepower is helping professionalize outfits that began in garages and military units—giving them a chance to compete abroad with Western players.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2025
There’s also a movement to professionalize the field of animal-assisted therapy and ensure the animals involved are treated in a safe and ethical manner.
From Seattle Times ● May 4, 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
After World War II, the American military was more professionalized, and by the 1970s, the unpopularity of the Vietnam War made military school less appealing.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
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
Among the offices housed in the East Wing is the Office of the First Lady, first professionalized by Eleanor Roosevelt during her husband’s administration.
From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2025
It was not at all certain, then, how he would fare against the younger breed of highly professionalized butlers looking for posts.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Backers, including venture capital investors and the YouTube star MrBeast, are now aiming to cash in by professionalizing the strategy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
“It’s going to be huge because we are now professionalizing how we go to market, how we price things,” Cruz said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2025
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 to implementing an ambitious economic reform program and professionalizing its parliament.
From The 1998 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.
