diversify

verb

di·​ver·​si·​fy də-ˈvər-sə-ˌfī 

dī-

diversified; diversifying

transitive verb

1

: to make diverse or composed of unlike elements : give variety to

diversify a course of study

2

: to balance (an investment portfolio) defensively by dividing funds among securities (see security sense 3) of different industries or of different classes

diversify your investments

3

: to increase the variety of the products of

diversify the company

intransitive verb

1

: to produce variety

encouraging farmers to diversify

2

: to engage in varied operations

diversifying into online services

diversifier

də-ˈvər-sə-ˌfī(-ə)r 

dī-

noun

Examples of diversify in a Sentence

The country is diversifying its energy sources.

farmers who want to diversify their crops

The new CEO's chief aim is to diversify the company.

The company needs to diversify.

Many publishing companies have diversified into online services.

Recent Examples on the Web

Chinese exporters further diversified away from the US as the country’s trade surplus topped $1 trillion, underscoring Beijing’s adaptation and resilience to American pressure. —semafor.com, 8 Dec. 2025

By investing in private markets, middle-class investors will be able to diversify their portfolios and get more exposure to successful private companies. —Will Dunham, Fortune, 8 Dec. 2025

Hazel Park’s economic base has diversified as well. —Brendel Clark, Freep.com, 7 Dec. 2025

After the talks, Putin and Modi announced that India and Russia had finalized an economic cooperation program until 2030, which will help diversify mutual businesses to boost annual trade to $100 billion by 2030. —Rajesh Roy, Arkansas Online, 6 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English dyversefyen "to change, vary," borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French diversefier, diversifier "to change, vary, be variable, be different," borrowed from Medieval Latin dīversificāre "to differentiate, differ, disagree, be at variance," verbal derivative of Late Latin dīversificus "varied," from Latin dīversus "turned in different directions, differing" + -i- -i- + -ficus -fic — more at diverse

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for diversify

• acidify
• alveoli
• areolae
• demystify
• detoxify
• disqualify
• electrify
• exemplify
• fasciculi
• identify
• indemnify
• intensify

Kids Definition

diversify

verb

di·​ver·​si·​fy də-ˈvər-sə-ˌfī 

dī-

diversified; diversifying

1

: to make diverse : give variety to

2

: to increase the variety of products of

diversify a business

diversification

-ˌvər-sə-fə-ˈkā-shən 

noun