synchronize

American  

[sing-kruh-nahyz] / ˈsɪŋ krəˌnaɪz /

especially British, synchronise

verb (used with object)

• synchronizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• synchronized,
  past participle,  past
• synchronizing
  present participle

1. 

   to cause to indicate the same time, as one timepiece with another.

   Synchronize your watches.

2. to cause to go on, move, operate, work, etc., at the same rate and exactly together.

   They synchronized their steps and walked on together.

3. Movies, Television.

   1. to cause (sound and action) to match precisely.

      to synchronize the sound of footsteps with the actor's movements.

   2. to match the sound and action in (a scene).

4. to harmonize or bring into alignment.

   To be at peace with yourself you must synchronize your lifestyle with your values.

5. to cause (accounts or narratives) to agree in the timing and sequence of events, or to arrange (events) in a way that shows their occurrence in the same time or period.

   The early church fathers did not attempt to synchronize the four gospels.

   This chart synchronizes inventions that occurred simultaneously in different parts of the world.

6. Computers. sync.

7. to adjust the periodicities of (two or more electrical or mechanical devices) so that the periods are equal or integral multiples or fractions of each other.

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verb (used without object)

• synchronizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• synchronized,
  past participle,  past
• synchronizing
  present participle

1. to occur at the same time or coincide or agree in time.

2. to go on, move, operate, work, etc., at the same rate and exactly together; recur together.

3. Computers. sync.

synchronize British  

/ ˈsɪŋkrəˌnaɪz /

verb

1. to occur or recur or cause to occur or recur at the same time or in unison

2. to indicate or cause to indicate the same time

   synchronize your watches

3. to download files, esp music or video files, from a PC to a portable device such as an iPod, or to upload files from the device to a PC

4. (tr) films to establish (the picture and soundtrack records) in their correct relative position

5. (tr) to designate (events) as simultaneous

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• desynchronization
  noun
• synchronization
  noun
• synchronizer
  noun
• desynchronize
  verb (used with object)
• unsynchronized
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• synchronizing
  present
• synchronized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• synchronize
  simple
• synchronizes
  simple
• have synchronized
  perfect
• has synchronized
  perfect
• am synchronizing
  progressive
• are synchronizing
  progressive
• is synchronizing
  progressive
• have been synchronizing
  perfect progressive
• has been synchronizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• synchronized
  simple
• had synchronized
  perfect
• was synchronizing
  progressive
• were synchronizing
  progressive
• had been synchronizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will synchronize
  simple
• will have synchronized
  perfect
• will be synchronizing
  progressive
• will have been synchronizing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of synchronize

First recorded in 1615–25; from Greek synchronízein “to be contemporary with”; from sýnchron(os) synchronous + -izein -ize

Explanation

When you synchronize things, you make them happen at the same time. If you have rhythm, you can synchronize your dance moves with the beat of the music. If not, stay off the dance floor. Synchronize, pronounced "SINK-ruh-nize," means "to make things happen at the same time" — even down to a fraction of a second, as in synchronized swimming. In that sport, one movement that doesn't sync, or match up, costs the swimmers points. When you synchronize your wristwatches, people can't blame their watches being fast or slow if they don't come to the meeting spot at the right time.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

synchronize synchronizes synchronized synchronizing

Now, in a new study published inNature Communications, Prof. Alex Greilich and his colleagues have found that multiple time crystals can emerge within the same material and synchronize their electron-nuclear spin oscillations.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026

Ms. Daanje dramatizes their struggle to make their experiences of reality synchronize.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Under normal circumstances, the gravitational interaction between two closely orbiting stars would be expected to synchronize their motion through tidal locking.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

A wave of teacher contracts is up for renegotiation now, thanks to a strategy the unions implemented a few years ago to synchronize expiration dates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026

How could they possibly synchronize a meeting with their friends?

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

This system synchronizes cabin lighting, instruments and audio settings to one of five prefabricated “atmospheres,” including Lounge, Joy, Nature, Energetic, and Minimal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

It also helps drive the electric signal that synchronizes the contraction of the millions of heart muscle cells required for the heart to function as an efficient pump.

From Science Daily ● May 30, 2024

“Daylight exposure synchronizes our internal clock with the external environment, reinforcing our sleep-wake cycle,” he told The Times over email.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2024

This clock synchronizes and coordinates our body’s circadian rhythms, which help us prepare for things that happen at various times of day — such as falling asleep at night and waking up in the morning.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 3, 2023

Its commencement synchronizes with the centenary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s Mission.

From Messages to the Bahá’í World: 1950–1957 by Shoghi Effendi

Electronic devices need chips that process data in a synchronized way, and SiTime makes components that facilitate this.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

The global move to higher interest rates leaves “little doubt we’re in a globally synchronized cycle of rate hikes again,” said Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

That allows several police vehicles to broadcast a synchronized public safety announcement while flashing the same light-signal pattern.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

In G 203-47, however, the red dwarf rotates far too slowly to be synchronized with its orbit.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

I felt I was becoming synchronized with him.

From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell

Kaya de Barbaro, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, analyzed families with babies, synchronizing home audio recordings with the mothers’ smartphone use.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026

The big draw of space for data centers is power supply, with the option of synchronizing satellites to the sun's orbit to ensure constant light beaming onto solar panels.

From Barron's ● Mar. 17, 2026

“Generally heat domes instead affect very large geographic areas — synchronizing hot and sometimes very dry conditions — which can lead to additional challenges that may not materialize with ‘local’ heat wave events,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2024

They found that it is not only highly dynamic but also possesses a peculiar long-range order that may be responsible for synchronizing processes in the nucleus.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 18, 2024

Then, after synchronizing my wristwatch with the clock in the latrine, I walked down the long, wet cobblestone hill into town.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger

Related Words

• adjust
• harmonize
• integrate
• mesh