socialize
Americanverb (used with object)
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socializes,
present (3rd person singular)
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socialized,
past participle, past
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socializing
present participle
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to make social; make fit for life in companionship with others.
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to make socialistic; establish or regulate according to the theories of socialism.
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Education. to treat as a group activity.
to socialize spelling quizzes.
verb (used without object)
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socializes,
present (3rd person singular)
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socialized,
past participle, past
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socializing
present participle
verb
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(intr) to behave in a friendly or sociable manner
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(tr) to prepare for life in society
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(tr) to alter or create so as to be in accordance with socialist principles, as by nationalization
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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socializernoun
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resocializeverb
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oversocializeverb (used with object)
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socializableadjective
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unsocializableadjective
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unsocializedadjective
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unsocializingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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socializesimple
-
socializessimple
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have socializedperfect
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has socializedperfect
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am socializingprogressive
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are socializingprogressive
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is socializingprogressive
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have been socializingperfect progressive
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has been socializingperfect progressive
Past
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socializedsimple
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had socializedperfect
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was socializingprogressive
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were socializingprogressive
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had been socializingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of socialize
Explanation
When you socialize, you participate in activities in a group setting. If you have been studying alone for some time, you might take a break at the coffee shop to socialize with some friends. You can socialize somebody else, or educate her in social patterns. Parents socialize their kids through their upbringing, and clubs often socialize their members through a uniform. If you want to hang out with motorcyclists, you might want to dress in leather. It is also possible to socialize institutions, where benefits are open to a wide section of society. If voters socialize medicine, that service becomes available to all at government expense.
Vocabulary lists containing socialize
"Curtis Aikens and the American Dream" and "Go For It!"
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"La Vida Robot" and "Reading, Writing and... Recreation"
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for February 5–February 11, 2022
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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.
See Examples For:
As you age, you may face limitations on your ability to exert agency, socialize often and embrace a cause.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
Meals can be a time to socialize and deepen bonds with family and friends.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
Gen Z are likely to have one or two drinks and go home early, or to socialize in ways that don’t involve alcohol at all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Desperate to help her socialize, Bonnie’s parents weigh the costs of getting her a tablet, reluctantly adding one to their cart.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
He declined to socialize or work with other North Koreans who had been released from labor camps.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
His neighbors include Tom Brady and Jeff Bezos, though Icahn rarely socializes or goes to the island’s exclusive club.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2025
Karan says he socializes and eats at indoor restaurants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2024
He works in an office plaza, lives in a shoebox apartment with vellum-thin walls and socializes at his choice of nearby casual dining establishments with names like Flingers and Chotchkie’s Bar & Grill.
From Salon ● Mar. 1, 2024
The group shoots and socializes near the Spheres for 15 minutes before embarking on a walk through downtown.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 29, 2023
I start to see that the Internet is the way she travels; the way she socializes; the way she feels like part of things.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
I have a truth for you: Men are socialized to assert themselves and unabashedly pursue what they desire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
“I think having been socialized like so many other women, that we’re supposed to support men, I said: ‘Oh, it’s okay Cesar,’” she told the interviewer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026
Its socialized health system recommends fewer vaccines than most countries in the West because some diseases like hepatitis B are less prevalent there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 6, 2026
Men — and this is not an excuse — are often not socialized to step in on these terms.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 29, 2025
Louie swam in the lakes, ate appalling quantities of food, and socialized.
From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
Speaking of that: It’s not too late to join our series of challenges to help you rediscover the beauty of socializing in a pre-smartphone era.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
So after reading what felt like the hundredth article declaring that my generation had abandoned alcohol, nightlife and socializing altogether, I started wondering whether I was missing something.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
The findings suggest that everyday patterns, such as waking, eating, working, socializing, and going to bed at similar times, may support better overall well-being.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
A utility whose data-center customers are contractually obliged to pay whether or not they draw the power is structurally safer than one still socializing costs through general rates.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
There was no telling what other invisible creatures I was out here socializing with—snakes, frogs, fish, a whole river world of biting bugs, and I could have cared less.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
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.
