virtualization

noun

vir·​tu·​al·​i·​za·​tion ˌvər-chə-wə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

ˌvər-chə-lə-, 

ˌvərch-wə-lə-

computing

: the process of creating a virtual version of something (such as an operating system or server) that mimics physical hardware functionality

Virtualization … allows a computer to share its hardware resources with multiple digitally separated environments.

—Amazon Web Services

virtualize

ˈvər-chə-wə-ˌlīz 

ˈvər-chə-ˌlīz, 

ˈvərch-wə-ˌlīz

transitive verb

virtualized; virtualizing; virtualizes

Examples of virtualization in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

HostArmada puts all its eggs in the virtual machine/virtualization basket, which may impede you from deploying Windows-specific applications, building custom hardware configurations, or running GPU-intensive tasks. —Gabriel Zamora, PC Magazine, 8 Mar. 2026

VMWare's virtualization software is enabler of cloud computing. —Zev Fima, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2026

Broadcom's 2023 acquisition of VMware fundamentally altered the enterprise virtualization market. —Steve McDowell, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026

HostColor reports using Proxmox VE, VMware ESXi and other enterprise virtualization technologies. —Nia Bowers, Miami Herald, 5 Jan. 2026

Available as bare metal or cloud-based servers, they can be configured with the Microsoft Windows operating system, a Linux distribution, or enterprise virtualization technology such as Proxmox VE or VMware ESXi. —Nia Bowers, Charlotte Observer, 2 Jan. 2026

If Inherent Vice lamented the fading of the 60s, and Bleeding Edge charted the virtualization of the present, Shadow Ticket seems to weep for history itself. —Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025

This could benefit the lightweight virtualization apps like VirtualBuddy and Viable that mostly exist to provide a front end for the Virtualization framework, as well as virtualization apps like Parallels that offer support for Windows. —ArsTechnica, 15 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined above