tokenize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to hire, treat, or use (someone) as a symbol of inclusion or compliance with regulations, or to avoid the appearance of discrimination or prejudice.
The company has been accused of tokenizing women and people of color in their advertising.
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Linguistics. to separate (text) into discrete words, sequences, symbols, or other linguistic units.
When working with a data set using natural language, it's often useful to tokenize the text into individual words.
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Computers. to replace (sensitive or personal information, such as a bank account number) with a placeholder, usually a randomized string of characters having no meaningful value.
The electronic wallet technology securely captures, tokenizes, and stores credit card information.
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Digital Technology. to split (a tangible or intangible asset) into virtual tokens that are able to be sold or exchanged.
Rather than selling a painting outright, the artist can now tokenize the product and offer digital shares of the painting.
The startup hopes to tokenize movie stars, rock bands, and other celebrities, giving fans a unique opportunity to invest.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tokenize
First recorded in 1985–90; token ( def. ) + -ize ( def. )
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:
The landmark measure has sparked a race on Wall Street to tokenize, or transform, real-world assets ranging from stocks to office buildings into digital tokens on the blockchain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026
“Now, Wall Street is exploring how to tokenize stocks, bonds and even real estate,” he said, bringing traditional financial assets into the same programmable ecosystem.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2025
As in: My name is Alex, and I could tokenize myself by launching AlexCoin.
From Slate ● Mar. 28, 2025
"I hope people in computer science can figure out how can we tokenize cryptocurrencies in some way that can benefit global science," says Grzybowski.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 24, 2024
I too wonder if I’m participating in a machine that claims to redistribute power only to tokenize.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2023
Ondo Finance is one of the biggest providers of tokenized products, with about $3.9 billion in tokenized assets under management on its platform.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
And finally, with the SEC opening the door to tokenized equities, they explain what it means for stocks to be traded like crypto—and why AMC is beefing with Robinhood over it.
From Slate ● Sep. 19, 2026
The SEC said it would allow trading venues to offer tokenized stocks, through which traditional assets are traded on digital ledgers known as blockchains.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Before a venue trades a stock tokenized by a third party, it must give the issuing company 30 days notice and stop if the company objects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
The Securities and Exchange Commission cleared a path for trading venues to offer tokenized stocks in the U.S., a landmark decision that may overhaul traditional equity markets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Airbnb founder and CEO thinks the success of tokenizing real-world assets depends on trust embedded in the governance and trustworthiness of the hosting system itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Financial institutions are increasingly tokenizing funds, which refers to digitizing these funds to trade on blockchain ledgers.
From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026
But some say the once-hot idea of tokenizing collectibles has lost its faddish appeal.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 9, 2025
Bobby’s bickersome museum colleagues sometimes make up a charmingly intersectional peanut gallery and sometimes feel like an assortment of tokenizing punchlines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2022
It’s tokenizing at best, though like you I assume your colleague was operating in something resembling good faith.
From New York Times ● Aug. 13, 2021
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.
