standardize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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to make or become standard
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(tr) to test by or compare with a standard
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonstandardizationnoun
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prestandardizationnoun
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restandardizationnoun
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standardizationnoun
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standardizernoun
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substandardizationnoun
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prestandardizeverb (used with object)
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restandardizeverb (used with object)
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substandardizeverb (used with object)
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nonstandardizedadjective
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quasi-standardizedadjective
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standardizableadjective
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unstandardizableadjective
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unstandardizedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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standardizesimple
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standardizessimple
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have standardizedperfect
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has standardizedperfect
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am standardizingprogressive
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are standardizingprogressive
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is standardizingprogressive
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have been standardizingperfect progressive
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has been standardizingperfect progressive
Past
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standardizedsimple
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had standardizedperfect
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was standardizingprogressive
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were standardizingprogressive
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had been standardizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of standardize
Explanation
To standardize something is to make it fit a certain guideline or requirement. If a school decides to standardize its grading system, it makes sure every teacher gives grades in exactly the same way. Use the verb standardize to describe what an organization or company does when it makes a product or rule conform to a certain model. Often, to standardize things is to make them all exactly the same. When a city standardizes all its playground equipment, every park begins to look alike, with the same slides, swings, and sandboxes.
Vocabulary lists containing standardize
Fish in a Tree
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Early Civilizations of China, Lessons 4–6
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Struggle in Medieval Europe, Lessons 1–2
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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:
Companionship services are fragmented, hard to standardize, and vulnerable to safety concerns.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
Once collected, platforms, such as Palantir’s Maven, standardize, tag and score all the data, linking it to identities across devices and accounts.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026
As payments become commoditized and custody solutions standardize, margins will compress.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 16, 2026
On its most recent earnings call, the company said it would invest several hundred million dollars to standardize its business on a global platform.
From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026
When we were in tenth grade, he orchestrated a plan to standardize our entire class—make every tenth-grader exactly the same.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
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It standardizes production where possible, which lowers lead times and manufacturing costs, and its boats are smaller and cheaper to run.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
The latest development is a new rule that simplifies and standardizes the requirements for retrofits, said URM program manager Amanda Hertzfeld.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 27, 2023
The C.D.C. now has a similar process: The agency collects data from hospitals, counties and states, and then it standardizes and reports the data to the public.
From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2023
This latest iteration of Thread standardizes border routers so that companies like Apple, Amazon, and Google can produce them in a way that device vendors can rely on.
From The Verge ● Jul. 19, 2022
Well, in the mood cited, the institution raises and standardizes its entrance-requirements and generally excludes special students.
From The Soul of Democracy The Philosophy of the World War in Relation to Human Liberty by Griggs, Edward Howard
According to a new report published by the Success Academy charter-school network, in nearly half of the city’s schools most students flunked standardized tests in math and reading last year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
One provision would’ve required private schools accepting public money to give a common standardized test and report results to the county superintendent, allowing more insight into the schools’ educational quality.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
Researchers collected standardized photographs of 102 meals prepared for the diet study.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
Today, South Korea no longer fits the traditional emerging-market model of competing through low-cost labor and standardized manufactured exports.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
No, they are just frozen historical accidents: the “correct” forms are those that happened to be used in the dialect spoken in the region around London when written English first became standardized several centuries ago.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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"That means sugar yields fluctuate... and that means alcohol output changes. So standardizing production becomes difficult. Mexico solved this over decades through selective breeding. India hasn't yet," he says.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
By standardizing MRI data and clinical information from many research groups, the team created the largest stroke neuroimaging dataset of its kind.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 29, 2026
At a time when many wealth managers are standardizing their investment approach and embracing third-party model portfolios, Jamie Williams stands out for doing his own research and security selection.
From Barron's ● Mar. 28, 2026
McTaggart sees real potential for AI in the administrative side of agency work — organizing offers, standardizing contracts, aggregating sales data.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026
Co-operative organization has helped many communities through pooling of resources, standardizing, grading and packing the product, encouraging better field practices, and securing the services of able managers and salesmen.
From The Tomato by Work, Paul
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.