optimization
noun
Did you know?
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
Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 28 June 2025
Optimizing Sleep Sleep optimization will beat medical uses to market.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
This system has left a hole in the market for those looking for medical-grade care focused on prevention and optimization as opposed to triage.
—Kelsey Eisen, Robb Report, 26 June 2025
Target has made plenty of investments to optimize the supply chain once the product reached the U.S., with the company in the process of building out 15 sortation centers to better support route optimization for improved last-mile delivery.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 25 June 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 5 Jul. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share