colonize

verb col·o·nize \ ˈkä-lə-ˌnīz \

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

Definition of colonize

colonized; colonizing

transitive verb

1 a : to establish a colony in or on or of

colonize an island

b : to establish in a colony

the rights of colonized people

2 : to send illegal or irregularly qualified voters into

colonizing doubtful districts

3 : to infiltrate with usually subversive militants for propaganda and strategy reasons

colonize industries

intransitive verb

: to make or establish a colony : settle

—

colonizer

noun

See colonize defined for English-language learners

See colonize defined for kids

Examples of colonize in a Sentence

The area was colonized in the 18th century.
Weeds quickly colonized the field.
The island had been colonized by plants and animals.

Recent Examples of colonize from the Web

And two, this conference room is loaded with planetary protection specialists, whose oh-no-big-deal job is to make sure Earthling microbes don’t end up colonizing Mars.

— matt simon, WIRED, "Inside the Cleanroom Where NASA’s New Mars Lander Waits to Launch," 9 Apr. 2018
Researchers are still debating when the first microbes colonize us—in utero or during birth—but Greenberg and many others worry that early use of antibiotics in infants disrupts the establishment of those indispensable residents.

— marla broadfoot, Science | AAAS, "Too many antibiotics can give preemies a lifetime of ill health," 5 Apr. 2018
Elon Musk success with the Falcon Heavy reusable rocket, with a Tesla Roadster heading toward out to space, reveals his grand plan for colonizing Mars.

— nathan bomey, USA TODAY, "Scrutinized Tesla brags Model 3 electric car production could beat Ford's Model T," 3 Apr. 2018
In the modern—and colonized—world, food preparation has been simplified to accommodate our busy lives.

— alex zaragoza, Glamour, "I Tried Eating Like My Ancestors for a Week and I Loved It," 3 Apr. 2018
Musk had become the face of this new policy, the brash Silicon Valley tech billionaire who founded SpaceX in 2002 with the goal of colonizing Mars.

— washington post, latimes.com, "With a spacecraft in trouble and the White House watching, SpaceX had to deliver," 18 Mar. 2018
The country was never colonized and its people are very proud of that, just as the people of Wakanda are proud of their history of independence.

— andrew meldrum, chicagotribune.com, "'Black Panther' fans can find glimpses of Wakanda in Africa," 21 Mar. 2018
The answer is rooted in the geographical novelty that is Magna Graecia, a stripe of Southern Italy colonized by roaming Greeks in the eighth century BCE.

— molly young, GQ, "The Excessive Vision of Donatella Versace," 20 Mar. 2018
Startups are colonizing Oakland and other parts of the region that are not exactly deep in any peninsula.

— owen thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, "Silicon Valley faces an uncertain future — starting with its definition," 12 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'colonize.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of colonize

1622

colonize Synonyms

COLONIZE Defined for English Language Learners

colonize

verb

Definition of colonize for English Language Learners

: to create a colony in or on (a place) : to take control of (an area) and send people to live there
: to move into and live in (a place) as a new type of plant or animal