- (transitive) to take the full advantage of
- (transitive) to plan or carry out (an economic activity) with maximum efficiency
- (intransitive) to be optimistic
- (transitive) to write or modify (a computer program) to achieve maximum efficiency in storage capacity, time, cost, etc
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
op•ti•mize
(op′tə mīz′),USA pronunciation v., -mized, -miz•ing.
v.t.
v.i.
v.t.
- to make as effective, perfect, or useful as possible.
- to make the best of.
- Computingto write or rewrite (the instructions in a program) so as to maximize efficiency and speed in retrieval, storage, or execution.
- Mathematicsto determine the maximum or minimum values of (a specified function that is subject to certain constraints).
v.i.
- to be optimistic.
- optim(um) + -ize 1835–45
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
optimize, optimise /ˈɒptɪˌmaɪz/ vb
'optimize' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):