tokenize

[ toh-kuh-nahyz ]

verb (used with object)

, to·ken·ized, to·ken·iz·ing.

1. to hire, treat, or use (someone) as a symbol of inclusion or compliance with regulations, or to avoid the appearance of discrimination or prejudice:

   The company has been accused of tokenizing women and people of color in their advertising.

2. Linguistics. to separate (text) into discrete words, sequences, symbols, or other linguistic units:

   When working with a data set using natural language, it's often useful to tokenize the text into individual words.

3. Computers. to replace (sensitive or personal information, such as a bank account number) with a placeholder, usually a randomized string of characters having no meaningful value:

   The electronic wallet technology securely captures, tokenizes, and stores credit card information.

4. Digital Technology. to split (a tangible or intangible asset) into virtual tokens that are able to be sold or exchanged:

   Rather than selling a painting outright, the artist can now tokenize the product and offer digital shares of the painting.

   The startup hopes to tokenize movie stars, rock bands, and other celebrities, giving fans a unique opportunity to invest.

Other Words From

• to·ken·i·za·tion [toh-k, uh, -nahy-, zey, -sh, uh, n] especially British, to·ken·i·sa·tion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tokenize¹

First recorded in 1985–90; token ( def ) + -ize ( def )