commercialize

verb

com·​mer·​cial·​ize kə-ˈmər-shə-ˌlīz 

commercialized; commercializing

transitive verb

1

a

: to manage on a business basis for profit

b

: to develop commerce in

2

: to exploit for profit

commercialize Christmas

3

: to debase in quality for more profit

commercialization

kə-ˌmər-sh(ə-)lə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

Examples of commercialize in a Sentence

The company hopes to commercialize the drug next year.

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2024 alone, 950 startups launched to commercialize academic research. —Tomas J. Philipson, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2026

Despite its revolutionary bent, the poem—particularly its title—was later co-opted and commercialized. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Mar. 2026

And China is by no means the only country working on commercializing deep-sea exploration, with companies like the Netherlands' U-Boat Worx engineering ways to advance accessible underwater travel. —New Atlas, 27 Mar. 2026

In northern China, tenancy was the norm, mostly held by at-will tenants with little bargaining power, paying as much as half their output in rent, while in richer and more commercialized southern China, owner-worker systems were the norm. —Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for commercialize

• actualize
• antagonize
• apologise
• apologize
• capitalize
• categorize
• characterize
• conceptualize
• contrariwise
• criminalize
• decentralize
• democratize

Kids Definition

commercialize

verb

com·​mer·​cial·​ize kə-ˈmər-shə-ˌlīz 

commercialized; commercializing

1

: to manage for the sake of making a profit

2

: to use for profit

commercialize Christmas

commercialization

-ˌmər-shə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

noun