urbanize

American  

[ur-buh-nahyz] / ˈɜr bəˌnaɪz /

especially British, urbanise

verb (used with object)

urbanized, urbanizing

1. to make or cause to become urban, as a locality.

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urbanize British  

/ ˈɜːbəˌnaɪz /

verb

1. (usually passive)

   1. to make (esp a predominantly rural area or country) more industrialized and urban

   2. to cause the migration of an increasing proportion of (rural dwellers) into cities

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Other Word Forms

• nonurbanized adjective
• overurbanize verb
• unurbanized adjective
• urbanization noun

Etymology

Origin of urbanize

First recorded in 1635–45; urban + -ize

Example Sentences

The country’s east is heavily urbanized, with a population density about 50 times that of Arctic Scandinavia and Finland, where every square mile houses on average five people.

From The Wall Street Journal

Even in densely urbanized Europe, the wild is accessible, and the van allows us to get closer to places than we could on a conventional hotel vacation.

From The Wall Street Journal

Second-generation meetings were more public, convening in parks or commercial spaces, taking advantage of a China that was rapidly urbanizing, economically booming, and opening to outsiders.

From The Wall Street Journal

They benefit from space, sunlight and flexibility — qualities that Los Angeles has in abundance across its 1,600 square miles of urbanized area.

From Los Angeles Times

That research has shed light on existential threats facing the big cats eking out an existence in an increasingly urbanized landscape.

From Los Angeles Times