Meaning & use
colonize
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To take control of another territory, settle people there and rule it, usually at the expense of those already living there.
Grammar: Takes an object: they colonized the island.
Patterns
- colonize something
European powers colonized large parts of Africa and Asia.
The kingdom sent settlers to colonize the northern coast.
Several nations hoped to colonize the newly discovered islands.
verbtransitivebiology
To spread into and live in a new place, as plants, animals or microbes do.
Grammar: Takes an object: moss colonized the rocks.
Patterns
- colonize something
Weeds quickly colonized the bare ground after the fire.
Bacteria can colonize a wound if it is not cleaned.
Seabirds colonized the new volcanic island within a few years.
verbtransitive
To imagine or plan settling people on another planet or in space.
Grammar: Often used about future plans: colonize Mars.
Patterns
- colonize a planet
Writers have long dreamed of humans colonizing Mars.
The film imagines a crew sent to colonize a distant moon.
Word forms
| third person singular | colonizes |
|---|---|
| past tense | colonized |
| past participle | colonized |
| -ing form | colonizing |
Common combinations
- colonize a territory
- The empire sought to colonize a distant territory.
- colonize the land
- Settlers colonized the land along the river.
- colonize Mars
- Some engineers believe we could colonize Mars.
- quickly colonize
- Algae can quickly colonize a still pond.
- colonize the gut
- Helpful bacteria colonize the gut in early childhood.
Synonyms and how they differ
- settle
- Settle simply means to make a home somewhere and carries no idea of ruling or taking over.
- occupy
- Occupy stresses holding a place, often by force, without necessarily sending settlers.
- conquer
- Conquer focuses on defeating a people by force, whereas colonize adds settlement and long-term control.
- populate
- Populate means to fill a place with inhabitants and says nothing about control or conflict.
Opposites
Word family
- colony noun
- a territory or group living under the control of another
- colonization noun
- the process of colonizing
- colonist noun
- a person who settles in a colony
- colonial adjective
- relating to colonies
- colonizer noun
- a person or power that colonizes
Commonly confused: colonize or colonialize?
colonize vs colonialize
Colonialize is a rare variant; colonize is the standard verb.
Practice
After the volcano erupted, lichens began to ____ the bare rock.
Choose one answer.
Colonize is the standard biological verb for organisms spreading into a new habitat. Conquer suggests defeating an enemy, which does not fit lichens.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “colonize”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.