patronize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to give (a store, restaurant, hotel, etc.) one's regular patronage; trade with.
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to behave in an offensively condescending manner toward.
a professor who patronizes his students.
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to act as a patron toward (an artist, institution, etc.); support.
verb
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to behave or treat in a condescending way
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(tr) to act as a patron or patroness by sponsoring or bringing trade to
Usage
What does patronize mean? To patronize is to be a customer (or patron) of a business or other establishment.In this sense, patronize most often means to be a paying customer, especially a regular one. However, you can patronize establishments that are not businesses—you can patronize a library, for example.Example: I patronize local shops and restaurants whenever I can in order to support people in my own community, instead of enriching faceless corporations.Patronize also means to act condescendingly toward a person in a way that arrogantly implies that you’re being kind or helpful to that person. This often takes the form of speaking to someone as if they were a child. Someone who acts in this way can be described as patronizing.Example: Don’t patronize me, Jeff—I understand the topic just as well as you do.
Other Word Forms
- patronizable adjective
- patronization noun
- patronizer noun
- repatronize verb (used with object)
- transpatronize verb (used with object)
- unpatronizable adjective
- well-patronized adjective
Etymology
Origin of patronize
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
