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
Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2025
To address that challenge, the team built an optimization system that plans safe, feasible routes using sequential convex programming.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 8 Dec. 2025
This router is packed with features, including customizable RGB lighting and game optimization, to make your gaming experience smoother.
—PC Magazine, 3 Dec. 2025
The result is a feedback loop of continuous optimization.
—Ascend Agency, Mercury News, 2 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for optimization
Cite this Entry
“Optimization.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/optimization. Accessed 14 Dec. 2025.
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