decentralize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to distribute the administrative powers or functions of (a central authority) over a less concentrated area.
to decentralize the national government.
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to disperse (something) from an area of concentration.
to decentralize the nation's industry.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to reorganize (a government, industry, etc) into smaller more autonomous units
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to disperse (a concentration, as of industry or population)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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decentralizesimple
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decentralizessimple
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have decentralizedperfect
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has decentralizedperfect
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am decentralizingprogressive
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are decentralizingprogressive
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is decentralizingprogressive
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have been decentralizingperfect progressive
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has been decentralizingperfect progressive
Past
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decentralizedsimple
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had decentralizedperfect
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was decentralizingprogressive
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were decentralizingprogressive
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had been decentralizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of decentralize
First recorded in 1850–55; de- + centralize
Explanation
To decentralize is to move control from one big organization to several smaller ones. A bookstore chain might decentralize by shifting from one main buyer purchasing books for all the stores to individual store buyers making those purchases. In government, the term decentralize is used when authority moves away from federal control to the state — or from the state to a local level. Your state, for example, might decentralize laws about stores using plastic bags by allowing each city or town to make its own rules. In business, a company decentralizes when it gives more control to individual locations (like the freedom to hire workers and make rules), rather than making these decisions for them.
Vocabulary lists containing decentralize
Western Europe - Introductory
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Western Europe - Middle School and High School
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: de-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Andy Burnham proposes “business-friendly socialism” to decentralize power and address household bills, aiming to save Labour from defeat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
The USDA’s program began doling out grants to states and tribal governments in 2022, in an attempt to decentralize and diversify food supply chains after the strain of the pandemic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2025
But Valderrama Blanco says Gálvez Ruiz will decentralize science policy and give more authority over science funding to Mexico’s state governments, an approach discouraged by the current law.
From Science Magazine ● May 2, 2024
As Haitians continue streaming into Cap-Haïtien, some caution that the only way for the city to really become the capital again is to decentralize the government.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 19, 2024
Sir Charles's main object in local government was to decentralize, and he sought to move in this direction by stimulating the exercise of existing powers and the habit of responsibility in local popularly elected bodies.
From The Life of the Rt. Hon. Sir Charles W. Dilke, Volume 2 by Gwynn, Stephen Lucius
The draft is expected to be the first sporting event to be held at The Sphere and a showcase opportunity for the league before the draft decentralizes starting in 2025.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 5, 2023
“The quota system decentralizes and simplifies execution but incentivizes local authorities to prioritize output at any cost. This can create abuses.”
From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2022
Web2 centralizes a bunch of cool stuff that was happening with Web1, but you are saying Web3 decentralizes it again.
From The Verge ● Apr. 12, 2022
But Rhimes' most bewildering choice decentralizes the glamorous predator at its center to make the writer the star.
From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2022
Now, this division of power, which decentralizes the government without creating mutually hostile forces, can hardly be introduced into any European state.
From The American Republic : constitution, tendencies and destiny by Brownson, Orestes Augustus
The word “DeFiant” was a coy wink to this idea of decentralized currency, known as DeFi, the ostensible rationale for the new Trump–Witkoff platform.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
That committee’s report also said Harvard was highly decentralized compared with its peers, operating an “Every Tub on its Own Bottom” system where each subsidiary prepares its own budgets and raises its own funds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
The play, which won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize this year, entices on the page despite seeming overstuffed and curiously decentralized.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
This broader, decentralized spirit manifests visibly across the country.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
As with Pythagoras, in Darwin’s model, every organism carried information to build organs and structures in miniaturized form—except in Darwin’s case, the information was decentralized.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The president reiterated his commitment to decentralizing the economy and granting greater autonomy to state-owned enterprises, which account for roughly 80 percent of economic activity.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
In “Humanocracy,” Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini describe how decentralizing individual responsibility helps businesses thrive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
At the time, Skid Row housing and service providers were looking outward, building housing in the Valley, Westlake, Hollywood and South L.A. in hopes of decentralizing their work on Skid Row.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2024
One solution may be decentralizing them by creating a network of small facilities that are harder to hit than large plants.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 4, 2024
In 1878, as the result of the Ten Years’ War, various administrative reforms, of a decentralizing tendency, were introduced.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 7 "Crocoite" to "Cuba" by Various
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.
