quantize

American  

[kwon-tahyz] / ˈkwɒn taɪz /

especially British, quantise

verb (used with object)

quantized, quantizing

1. Mathematics, Physics. to restrict (a variable quantity) to discrete values rather than to a continuous set of values.

2. Physics. to change the description of (a physical system) from classical to quantum-mechanical, usually resulting in discrete values for observable quantities, as energy or angular momentum.

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quantize British  

/ ˈkwɒntaɪz /

verb

1. physics to restrict (a physical quantity) to one of a set of values characterized by quantum numbers

2. maths to limit (a variable) to values that are integral multiples of a basic unit

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quantize Scientific  

/ kwŏn′tīz′ /

1. To limit a variable or variables describing a physical system to discrete, distinct values. For example, the energy of electromagnetic radiation such as light at a given frequency must be an integer multiple of hν, where ν is the frequency and h is a Planck's constant; electromagnetic energy is thus inherently quantized (in this case, photons are the quanta of energy). The distinct orbitals of electrons in an atom are also a case of quantized energy. Many apparently continuous phenomena turn out to be quantized at a very fine level or very small scale; quantum mechanics was developed in large part to explain many unexpected cases of quantization in the natural world.

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Other Word Forms

• quantization
  noun

Etymology

Origin of quantize

First recorded in 1920–25; quant(um) + -ize

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

quantize quantized quantizing

Some have said it was a failure to quantize his compositions, a feature in digital recording that eliminates human error and puts the timing of drum beats in their “correct” place.

From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2022

Even something as small as “I’m not just going to quantize this beat”… It’s finding kindred spirits in people who are able to make people see a different kind of beauty.

From MSNBC ● Feb. 10, 2015

Light delivers energy to the material in discrete, or quantized, packets known as photons.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

"Observing a quantized drit of light is uniquely challenging, for photonic systems are inherently out of equilibrium," St-Jean noted.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 1, 2026

Under this theory, spacetime itself would become quantized, which would allow scientists to understand the behavior of large-scale spacetime through a quantum lens.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 19, 2023

The song is measured and quantized, but thoroughly obsessional.

From New York Times ● Apr. 21, 2023

Light is quantized into photons, directly contradicting the wave theory of light that had not been questioned for more than a century.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

"It's a really conservative approach to quantizing gravity," he said.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026

The lack of a fixed background spacetime does, however, make this difficult -- a known problem with quantizing gravitational theories.

From Scientific American ● May 4, 2011

This requires "quantizing" gravity, the only one of nature's four basic forces that cannot yet be explained by the quantum theory.

From Time Magazine Archive