standardize

verb

stan·​dard·​ize ˈstan-dər-ˌdīz 

standardized; standardizing; standardizes

transitive verb

1

: to bring into conformity with a standard especially in order to assure consistency and regularity

trying to standardize testing procedures

There ought to be a law standardizing the controls for hot and cold in hotel and motel showers.

—Andrew A. Rooney

These rectangular steel boxes, first used about fifty years ago, revolutionized the transportation of freight by standardizing the size and shape of the container, enabling it to be moved seamlessly from boat and barge to rail or truck.

—James McCommons

2

: to compare with a standard : to determine the strength, value, or quality of (something) by comparison with a standard

standardize a solution

standardize a voltmeter

standardization

ˌstan-dər-də-ˈzā-shən 

noun

Synonyms

• formalize
• homogenize
• normalize
• regularize

Examples of standardize in a Sentence

He standardized procedures for the industry.

the plan is to standardize the test for reading comprehension so that we can see how students across the state compare

Recent Examples on the Web

Collaborating with industry peers to standardize attribution models and investing in AI technologies that respect privacy concerns are crucial. —Gary Drenik, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023

This allowed the researchers to determine that poor calibration can affect the device’s measurements and that calibration processes need to be standardized to ensure the device’s proper functioning. —Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Oct. 2023

The Common Core, an effort to standardize grade-level learning across the country, was being rolled out in 2010. —Emma Green, The New Yorker, 1 Sep. 2023

Around the same time, Congress passed the 1980 Refugee Act to standardize resettlement and shift from the community sponsorship model to the professional resettlement agencies that are still active. —Emily Frazier, The Conversation, 30 Aug. 2023

An app for that One recommendation the NTSB makes is for all car manufacturers to standardize their emergency response guides, known as ERGs, for first responders. —Ash-Har Quraishi, Aparna Zalani, Ryan Beard, CBS News, 15 Aug. 2023

The redesign was not related to the lawsuits and was part of an effort to standardize the company’s cans, Conagra said. —Claire Savage, Fortune, 1 Nov. 2023

Dreher and his colleagues go behind the scenes of this multiyear, cross-national effort to collect and standardize these data from a wide variety of sources. —Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2023

The two went to work, transcribing the poems, making editorial decisions about word choice, adding titles, standardizing punctuation, and organizing the verse by theme. —Martha Ackmann, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2023

See More

Word History

First Known Use

1792, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

standardize

verb

stan·​dard·​ize ˈstan-dərd-ˌīz 

standardized; standardizing

: to compare with or make agree with a standard

standardization

ˌstan-dərd-ə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

Medical Definition

standardize

transitive verb

stan·​dard·​ize

variants also British standardise

ˈstan-dərd-ˌīz 

standardized also British standardised; standardizing also British standardising

1

: to reduce to or compare with a standard

standardize a solution

2

: to bring into conformity with a standard

3

: to arrange or order the component items of a test (as of intelligence or personality) so that the probability of their eliciting a designated class of response varies with some quantifiable psychological or behavioral attribute, function, or characteristic

standardization noun

also British standardisation

ˌstan-dərd-ə-ˈzā-shən