What does "commercialize" mean?

To bring into commerce from an earlier condition (such as idea alone, experimental prototypes alone, or one-off custom builds only).

What is a synonym for "commercialize"?

Common synonyms include: capitalize on, cash in on, clean up, clear, commercialise, commodify.

Pronounced //kəˈmɚʃəlaɪz//.

//kəˈmɚʃəlaɪz// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Verb

1
To bring into commerce from an earlier condition (such as idea alone, experimental prototypes alone, or one-off custom builds only). transitive
"Near-synonym: productize"
2
make commercial wordnet
3
To apply business methodology to something in order to profit (such as introducing salability to a resource that comes from, or rightfully belongs to, the commons). transitive
"finding the right balance in paying for water infrastructure (treatment plants and pipe networks) but not commercializing water to the point of excluding low-income people from adequate access to a basic necessity"
4
exploit for maximal profit, usually by sacrificing quality wordnet
5
To exploit something for maximum financial gain, sometimes by sacrificing quality. transitive
"a market district formerly served mainly by artisans but increasingly commercialized for mass tourism"

"the work required not only to invent a device but also to commercialize it"

From commercial + -ize.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.