Synonyms

standardize

American

[stan-der-dahyz] / ˈstæn dərˌdaɪz /

especially British, standardise

verb (used with object)

to bring to or make of an established standard size, weight, quality, strength, or the like.

to standardize manufactured parts.
to compare with or test by a standard.
to choose or establish a standard for.

verb (used without object)

to become standardized.

standardize British

/ ˈstændəˌdaɪz /

verb

to make or become standard
(tr) to test by or compare with a standard

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Present

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Etymology

Origin of standardize

First recorded in 1870–75; standard + -ize

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.

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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:

standardize standardizes standardized standardizing

Texas Instruments teamed up with math educators and textbook publishers to create an ecosystem for teacher training programs and instruction materials that would seamlessly standardize TI across American classrooms.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

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

The industry pledged last year to standardize electronic submissions and deliver at least 80% of decisions in real time by 2027, part of a broader push to ease administrative burdens and improve transparency.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

Agents were now expected to standardize the way they filed their case reports, on single sheets of paper.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

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

Headquartered in Geneva, ISO standardizes everything from the dimensions of cotton bales to the proper transport of uncrewed spacecraft.

From Salon ● Jan. 12, 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 Edward Howard Griggs

The Protect College Sports Act aims to create a more standardized college sports economy.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

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

Early states had state religions and standardized temples.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Many in the industry have touted federal intervention as a way to “save” college sports by standardizing how recruitment and payment of athletes work.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

In 1955, when Pratt and Kroc crossed paths, they saw that standardizing the products the burger chain carried would help ensure uniform quality, and drive down costs by increasing purchasing power.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026

"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

“Some updates include further standardizing Department practices and processes to ensure organizational consistency, the introduction of new equipment and refining response protocols tailored to the nature of the call for service,” a statement read.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026

That is, we mean that acts so characterized correspond exactly to a self in a peculiar attitude, viz., one of adequate standardizing and adjustment, of equilibrium, in383 view of all relations.

From Creative Intelligence Essays in the Pragmatic Attitude by Boyd H. Bode

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023