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

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Etymology

Origin of synchronize

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

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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

Scientists have considered for decades whether separate fault systems can synchronize their behavior.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026

"We present a relatively simple method that could be scaled up to synchronize multiple distant qubits," says Andrés-Juanes.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Over time, tidal forces synchronize the planet's rotation with its orbit, causing one rotation to take the same amount of time as one trip around its star.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026

As they tried to absorb their lessons and experience, and to synchronize their efforts, they lived in constant fear of making any of the many egregious errors Bolles kept pointing out to them.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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

But during a seizure, the chatter synchronizes into loud bursts of electrical activity that overwhelm the brain's casual conversation.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 15, 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

The third Unit of Treatment synchronizes and harmonizes mental and physical actions and re-establishes normal co-ordination between the brain and the muscles of speech, which completes the work necessary to bring about a cure.

From Stammering, Its Cause and Cure by Benjamin Nathaniel Bogue

When two regions show synchronized activity, it suggests they are working together as part of a larger brain network.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 9, 2026

It now encompasses a mashup of disparate tire shops, oil change outfits and repair centers, including franchises and company-owned stores, that maintain their local identity but benefit from being part of a synchronized national network.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 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 the past year, June had dragged Ivy and Taryn through a myriad of activities, everything from synchronized swimming to knitting classes at the rec center.

From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake

PepsiCo anticipates retraining and redeploying some drivers to other types of work, including managing the new equipment, synchronizing the movement of people who go to the stores, or handling the unloading themselves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 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

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

Disney pioneered sound film technology, synchronizing on-screen action with recorded speech, music and sound effects, Apgar said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2023

Establishing these three calendars required advances in astronomy; synchronizing them required ventures into mathematics.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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Related Words

• adjust
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