stabilize
Americanverb (used with object)
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stabilizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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stabilized,
past participle, past
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stabilizing
present participle
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to make or hold stable, firm, or steadfast.
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to maintain at a given or unfluctuating level or quantity.
The government will try to stabilize the cost of living.
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Aeronautics. to put or keep (an aircraft) in stable equilibrium, as by some special device.
verb (used without object)
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stabilizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stabilized,
past participle, past
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stabilizing
present participle
verb
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to make or become stable or more stable
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to keep or be kept stable
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to put or keep (an aircraft, vessel, etc) in equilibrium by one or more special devices, or (of an aircraft, vessel, etc) to become stable
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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stabilizationnoun
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restabilizeverb (used with object)
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self-stabilizedadjective
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self-stabilizingadjective
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unstabilizedadjective
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unstabilizingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stabilizesimple
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stabilizessimple
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have stabilizedperfect
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has stabilizedperfect
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am stabilizingprogressive
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are stabilizingprogressive
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is stabilizingprogressive
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have been stabilizingperfect progressive
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has been stabilizingperfect progressive
Past
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stabilizedsimple
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had stabilizedperfect
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was stabilizingprogressive
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were stabilizingprogressive
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had been stabilizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stabilize
Explanation
The verb stabilize means to hold steady or make firm. When you climb a ladder, you should stabilize the ladder before you get on it, otherwise you may get a lesson in the laws of gravity — you know, what goes up comes down! The verb stabilize also means to keep from changing or shifting. If you have a fever and your temperature is all over the place, you can help stabilize it by taking aspirin. The verb stabilize was originally applied to ships and the idea that something like weight or the shape of the ship could be used to produce a steadier, or less wobbly, voyage. Now the verb applies to anything that can be made more steady or stable. You might remember how happy you were when learning to ride a bike that you had training wheels to stabilize you.
Vocabulary lists containing stabilize
Hatchet
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Purple Hibiscus
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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:
"Disorder can stabilize networks, but only when the node dynamics are rich enough," Motter said.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
Treasury yield is likely to stabilize near term, staying in the 4.90%-5.10% range, says SEB’s Jussi Hiljanen in a note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
In June, Barrow admitted that The Gambia owed money to Senegal's public electricity provider, Senelec, explaining that the financial strain has complicated efforts to stabilize the power supply.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
Treasury’s buyback program that was announced earlier this month to help keep the world’s biggest debt market running smoothly and stabilize long-end rates.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
She needed to stabilize her position in order to help support Mark Antony’s faltering efforts.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
If gold stabilizes quickly despite tighter monetary policy, investors should ask why.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Even if the Iran conflict cools and oil stabilizes, a powerful El Niño could keep pressure on essential prices through the end of 2026 and into 2027.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
The researchers say they still do not know exactly how APOE2 stabilizes the nuclear envelope and strengthens DNA repair.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026
As global marine shipping stabilizes, the positive situation is expected to weaken later in the year, Evonik said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
The second Unit of Treatment restores the mental equilibrium, stabilizes the mental activities and places them under perfect control.
From Stammering, Its Cause and Cure by Benjamin Nathaniel Bogue
U.S. stock futures were steady and oil edged lower in early European trade as market sentiment stabilized ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy rate decision later Wednesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Micron stock has stabilized following an AI slowdown panic but it still has to deal with union demands in Taiwan.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
“We have stabilized the patient, and now we are in the healing portion.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
"This way, the entangled qubit state is stabilized, even beyond the qubits' own 'lifetime', and remains always available as a resource for further quantum processing. This makes the approach conceptually significant."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026
And then at the end of June Dr. Wells decrees that my leg is stabilized and gives me a prescription for my permanent leg.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
Bessent this week kicked off a series of bigger buybacks of long-dated Treasurys with the aim to keep the world’s biggest debt market functioning smoothly and stabilizing long-end rates.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 13, 2026
Others say they appreciate how serious Sharma is about stabilizing their business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
"By stabilizing the entangled states remotely, our approach is fully autonomous and requires no active control or measurement."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026
"We found pronounced development in the upper limbs of these individuals, which correlates to repetitive, high-intensity actions like pulling a bowstring or stabilizing a weapon, proving these activities were habitual throughout their lives," explained Hashesh.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
Smirking, Celaena braced her blackened feet on a stabilizing bracket holding the pipe in place.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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.
