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
Kumar Abhishek Narayan, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
People aren’t making personal curriculums out of some hollow drive for productivity or relentless optimization.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 13 Sep. 2025
The resulting unrolled network consists of multiple stages, each acting like a mini-network that mimics one iteration of optimization.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 13 Sep. 2025
For business professionals seeking efficient health optimization, the Norwegian 4×4 protocol offers significant advantages.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 11 Sep. 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 17 Sep. 2025.
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