variants:
also British coloniser
plural colonizers
Definition of colonizer
a
: a nation or state that takes control of a people or area as an extension of state power
the country's relationship with its former colonizer
b
see usage paragraph below
: a person who migrates to and settles in an inhabited or uninhabited area
Almost all early explorers and colonizers marveled at the natural abundance they found in the Americas, a biodiversity at odds with the deforestation and extinctions that the Europeans had already wrought in most of their own continent.— Alan Taylor Lemur was the Roman name for the spirits of the dead … . The lemurs of Madagascar, an island of southeastern Africa, were named by French colonizers. — International Wildlife
c(1)
biology
: an organism that establishes a population in a new area or habitat
… debate among scientists trying to determine how tube worms, clams and other colonizers of hydrothermal vents and cold seeps arrive and persist in their ephemeral habitats.— Julie Zeidner Russo Seaweeds tend to be the first colonizers on shorelines …— Mark Carwardine
(2)
medical
: a microorganism that multiplies in or on a host or an inanimate object or surface
Identification of the typical flora in the postoperative ethmoid sinus cavity, as well as a determination of the type of bacteria expected to be colonizers rather than pathogens, would also assist the physician in selecting an appropriate antibiotic.— Neil Bhattacharyya and Harsha V. Gopal Unnoticed biofilm colonizers are present in ventilator connectors and humidifiers, which may not be removed by routine methods.— Bipassa Chakraborty et al.
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for colonizer
The first known use of colonizer was in 1766
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