hospitalize

verb

hos·​pi·​tal·​ize ˈhä-(ˌ)spi-tə-ˌlīz 

hospitalized; hospitalizing

transitive verb

: to place in a hospital as a patient

hospitalization

ˌhä-(ˌ)spi-tə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

Examples of hospitalize in a Sentence

The doctor wants to hospitalize her for a few days so that he can run some tests.

Recent Examples on the Web

At least four people were hospitalized after a five-car crash in Winnetka late Saturday night. —Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026

According to Evraev’s Telegram post, the child’s parents were hospitalized with serious injuries after the attack. —Volodymyr Yurchuk, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2026

An injured officer was also hospitalized. —Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2026

Three people have been hospitalized, and one developed a complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, which causes kidney damage and failure. —Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

hospital + -ize

First Known Use

circa 1899, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hospitalize

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

Kids Definition

hospitalize

verb

hos·​pi·​tal·​ize ˈhäs-ˌpit-ᵊl-ˌīz 

hospitalized; hospitalizing

: to place in a hospital as a patient

hospitalization

ˌhäs-ˌpit-ᵊl-ə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

Medical Definition

hospitalize

transitive verb

hos·​pi·​tal·​ize

variants or chiefly British hospitalise

ˈhäs-(ˌ)pit-ᵊl-ˌīz  häs-ˈpit-ᵊl-ˌīz 

hospitalized or chiefly British hospitalised; hospitalizing or chiefly British hospitalising

: to place in a hospital as a patient

the child was hospitalized at once for diagnosis and treatment

—The Journal of the American Medical Association