colonize - definition, synonyms and pronunciation

Open English WordNet

settle as a colony; of countries in the developing world“Europeans colonized Africa in the 17th century”Synonyms: coloniseOpposite decolonizeMore general annex
settle as colonists or establish a colony (in)“The British colonized the East Coast”Synonyms: coloniseMore general settle, locate

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Col′o·nize transitive verb [past tense & past participle Colonized; present participle & verbal noun Colonizing.]

Origin: Cf. F. coloniser.

To plant or establish a colony or colonies in; to people with colonists; to migrate to and settle in. Francis, Baron Verulam Bacon

They that would thus colonize the stars with inhabitants.— James Howell

Col′o·nize intransitive verb

To remove to, and settle in, a distant country; to make a colony. Claudius Buchanan

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54