optimization
noun
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Optimization started its gradual perfection in mid-19th-century English, when it was derived from optimize, a word first used in the early part of that same century with the meaning "to make the best or most of." In basic applications, optimization refers to the act or process of making something as good as it can be. In the 21st century, it has seen much use in technical contexts having to do with attaining the best possible functionality, as in "network optimization" and "search engine optimization" (SEO). Like the words optimum and optimism (which refer, respectively, to the amount or degree of something that is best or most effective, and to a feeling or belief that good things will happen in the future), optimize and optimization derive from Latin optimus, meaning "best."
Examples of optimization in a Sentence
Jake Angelo, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2026
Israeli expertise in cyber, semiconductors, grid optimization, and autonomous systems can anchor higher-value innovation layers.
—Judah Taub, semafor.com, 18 Mar. 2026
When the many required optimization steps are included, the total runtime could stretch to around 24 years.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 14 Mar. 2026
Flow Space asked experts for their thoughts about sleep optimization and sleepmaxxing, plus whether midlife women should partake.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for optimization
Cite this Entry
“Optimization.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/optimization. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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