unionize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to organize into a labor union; bring into or incorporate in a labor union.
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to subject to the rules of a labor union.
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Obsolete. to form into a union.
verb (used without object)
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to join in a labor union.
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Obsolete. to form a union.
verb
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to organize (workers) into a trade union
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to join or cause to join a trade union
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(tr) to subject to the rules or codes of a trade union
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to join or become joined in marriage or civil partnership
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have unionizedperfect
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has unionizedperfect 3rd person singular
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has been unionizingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am unionizingprogressive 1st person singular
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unionizingparticiple
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have been unionizingperfect progressive
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unionizessingular 3rd person
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is unionizingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are unionizingprogressive
Past
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had unionizedperfect
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was unionizingprogressive singular
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were unionizingprogressive plural
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unionizedparticiple
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had been unionizingperfect progressive
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unionizedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of unionize
Explanation
To unionize is to form a group of workers that has more power to negotiate with an employer. Fast food employees might unionize so they can bargain for higher wages and safer working conditions. When workers unionize, they vote to join a union, or a collective bargaining group. Sometimes belonging to a union is easy: most public school teachers, police officers, and other municipal employees automatically join existing unions when they're hired. In non-union jobs, however, like waiting tables or delivering food, employees who want to unionize have to convince a majority of their coworkers to vote in favor of the move.
Vocabulary lists containing unionize
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.
With claims to intellectual property becoming more complex and difficult to prove in the digital age, sex workers seeking to unionize say the stakes of their efforts are higher than ever.
From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026
But when the Dodgers emailed their roughly 55 tour guides Wednesday to say they were getting the pay raise they sought during a failed attempt to unionize, there must have been more smiles than frowns.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2026
What’s more, only employees can unionize and collectively bargain under the National Labor Relations Act.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 30, 2026
Previous attempts to unionize other areas of Amazon’s business have been met with resistance, with some workers alleging they were fired in retaliation for wanting to join a union.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 3, 2025
“Really? My wife is helping to unionize that plant.”
From "Kira-Kira" by Cynthia Kadohata
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.
