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

Smith was hospitalized and, in her own viral video, claimed Turner had a weapon, the news outlet reported. —Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 26 June 2025

The patient had to go to the hospital in 12% of those cases, and children under age 5 were the most likely to be hospitalized. —Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 26 June 2025

Meissner disagreed with Levi, warning that 80% of children hospitalized with RSV are healthy with no underlying conditions. —Nicole Brown Chau, CBS News, 26 June 2025

Horenstein said in the two weeks since he was hospitalized and charged, Estupinan hasn’t spoken to anyone or been before a judge. —Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 26 June 2025

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