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
Jakob Freund, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
By implementing carbon accounting and reporting frameworks for AI operations today, companies and governments can establish the measurement infrastructure needed to drive meaningful optimization.
—Aya Saed, Time, 17 June 2025
Janet Lee is the Head of GTM at daydream, an AI startup that helps companies grow by building and managing their end-to-end organic growth engine, from SEO to generative engine optimization (GEO).
—Janet Lee, CNBC, 15 June 2025
As expected, these builds also include bug fixes and performance optimizations.
—Michael Muchmore, PC Magazine, 13 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 30 Jun. 2025.
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