Meaning & use
strategizing
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“strategizing” is a form of “strategize”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
Planning carefully how to reach a long-term goal, especially in business, politics, or sport.
Grammar: No object: the leaders spent the day strategizing. You can add about or for before the topic.
Patterns
- strategize about something
- strategize for something
- spend time strategizing
The managers spent the morning strategizing about how to enter the new market.
Instead of acting quickly, the team kept strategizing and missed the deadline.
She is strategizing for next year's campaign with her closest advisers.
noununcountable
The activity of making careful long-term plans to achieve a goal.
Grammar: Used as a noun ending in -ing, like planning: strategizing takes time.
Patterns
- do some strategizing
- strategizing about something
A lot of strategizing went into the launch before anyone saw a product.
Their strategizing paid off when they won the contract.
verbintransitive
Thinking about a problem in a planned, organized way rather than reacting by instinct.
Grammar: No object; often contrasts with acting or reacting immediately.
Patterns
- stop and strategize
- strategize before doing something
Good players strategize before every match instead of just reacting.
We need to stop and strategize rather than making rushed decisions.
Word forms
| third person singular | strategizes |
|---|---|
| past tense | strategized |
| past participle | strategized |
| -ing form | strategizing |
Common combinations
- strategize about the future
- The board met to strategize about the future of the company.
- spend hours strategizing
- They spent hours strategizing before the negotiation began.
- strategize for growth
- Small firms must strategize for growth or they fall behind.
- a strategizing session
- The coaches held a strategizing session the night before the final.
Synonyms and how they differ
- plan
- A general word for deciding what to do; strategize suggests bigger, longer-term goals and more careful thought.
- scheme
- Can mean planning secretly or dishonestly, a negative tone that strategize does not usually have.
- plot
- Usually means planning something secret or harmful, much stronger and more negative than strategize.
Opposites
Word family
- strategy noun
- A plan for reaching a long-term goal.
- strategic adjective
- Relating to long-term plans or important overall aims.
- strategist noun
- A person who is skilled at making plans.
- strategically adverb
- In a way that serves a long-term plan.
Commonly confused: strategizing or strategy?
strategizing vs strategy
Strategy is the noun for the plan itself; strategizing is the activity of making such plans.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses strategizing correctly.
Choose one answer.
Strategize is intransitive, so it does not take a direct object; 'strategizing about the new product' is correct. The other options use it as a transitive verb, which is not standard.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “strategizing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.