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
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
As payments become commoditized and custody solutions standardize, margins will compress.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 16, 2026
Liens are recorded in state Uniform Commercial Code databases across the country, with the public filings intended to standardize interstate transactions and alert creditors about business debts and financial obligations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2026
Gey and several colleagues had already organized a committee to develop procedures to “simplify and standardize the technique of tissue culturing.”
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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The revised directive “simply standardizes the required forms.”
From Salon ● Mar. 24, 2026
It also standardizes fast-charging technology and gives consumers the right to choose whether to buy new devices with or without a charger.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 13, 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
The complaint against the church today is reducible to this: that she standardizes her ideals and her policies in accordance with the prosperous and well-to-do.
From The Evolution of the Country Community A Study in Religious Sociology by Wilson, Warren H. (Warren Hugh)
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
The new technique builds on Professor Chapman's earlier "sunclock," a system that places the Sun's irregular cycles onto a standardized clock.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
Statewide scores of the Smarter Balanced standardized test have not yet been released.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Everyone else had to take instruction specifically targeted to boost their standardized test scores.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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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
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
Even after standardizing their brightness, the team found that supernovae originating from younger stars tend to look fainter, while those from older stars appear brighter.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2025
The PCAOB’s findings led EY to improve the quality of its U.S. audit work, which centered on standardizing its approach and building centralized teams to provide audit support.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2025
Scientific Management, by determining and standardizing methods and equipment both, provides for uninterrupted output.
From The Psychology of Management The Function of the Mind in Determining, Teaching and Installing Methods of Least Waste by Gilbreth, Lillian Moller
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.