minimize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to reduce to the smallest possible amount or degree.
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to represent at the lowest possible amount, value, importance, influence, etc., especially in a disparaging way; belittle.
verb
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to reduce to or estimate at the least possible degree or amount
to minimize a risk
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to rank or treat at less than the true worth; belittle
to minimize someone's achievements
Other Word Forms
- minimization noun
- minimizer noun
- unminimized adjective
- unminimizing adjective
Etymology
Origin of minimize
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.
We used the period from November 2023 through mid-August 2025 to minimize undercounting at the start and end of our detention dataset.
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026
“I’m not saying we can eliminate what disruption there is so far, but we can minimize it for sure,” says Hassett.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026
United Arab Emirates-based intermediaries helped minimize direct contact between Iran and Russia.
From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026
Depending on the structure of a material, they interact with one another and arrange themselves in ways that minimize their energy or, in other words, reach their ground state.
From Science Daily • Mar. 16, 2026
Well, in a way—and I have no wish to minimize his peculiar role and his peculiar achievement—it is not he who has done it but time.
From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin
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.
