diversify

verb

di·​ver·​si·​fy də-ˈvər-sə-ˌfī 

dī-

diversified; diversifying

transitive verb

1

: to make diverse or composed of unlike elements : give variety to

diversify a course of study

2

: to balance (an investment portfolio) defensively by dividing funds among securities (see security sense 3) of different industries or of different classes

diversify your investments

3

: to increase the variety of the products of

diversify the company

intransitive verb

1

: to produce variety

encouraging farmers to diversify

2

: to engage in varied operations

diversifying into online services

diversifier

də-ˈvər-sə-ˌfī(-ə)r 

dī-

noun

Examples of diversify in a Sentence

The country is diversifying its energy sources.

farmers who want to diversify their crops

The new CEO's chief aim is to diversify the company.

The company needs to diversify.

Many publishing companies have diversified into online services.

Recent Examples on the Web

While HBCUs provided large numbers of Black officers during Vietnam, the success of diversifying the officer corps has been limited. — Jeremiah Favara, The Conversation, 18 Sep. 2026

If today’s concentration is being driven not only by the growing size of a handful of companies, but also by a common investment theme—AI—does reducing position sizes fully diversify the underlying sources of portfolio returns? — Artem Milinchuk, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026

Some to continue to diversify their sourcing portfolios, while others are deepening relationships with their existing supplier bases. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 17 Sep. 2026

Ian Lesser of the German Marshall Fund in Brussels said Trump’s tariffs and policies toward NATO and Greenland have accelerated efforts by Canada and Europe to diversify their economic and security ties. — ABC News, 15 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English dyversefyen "to change, vary," borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French diversefier, diversifier "to change, vary, be variable, be different," borrowed from Medieval Latin dīversificāre "to differentiate, differ, disagree, be at variance," verbal derivative of Late Latin dīversificus "varied," from Latin dīversus "turned in different directions, differing" + -i- -i- + -ficus -fic — more at diverse

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for diversify

• acidify
• alveoli
• antinomy
• areolae
• demystify
• detoxify
• disqualify
• electrify
• exemplify
• fasciculi
• identify
• indemnify

Kids Definition

diversify

verb

di·​ver·​si·​fy də-ˈvər-sə-ˌfī 

dī-

diversified; diversifying

1

: to make diverse : give variety to

2

: to increase the variety of products of

diversify a business

diversification

-ˌvər-sə-fə-ˈkā-shən 

noun