verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb

1. 1
   To act optimistically or as an optimist.
2. 2
   act as an optimist and take a sunny view of the world wordnet
3. 3
   To make (something) optimal. transitive

   "We need to optimize the supply chain to reduce costs."

4. 4
   modify to achieve maximum efficiency in storage capacity or time or cost wordnet
5. 5
   To make (something) more efficient, such as a computer program. transitive

   "The website was redesigned to optimize user experience."

Show 2 more definitions

6. 6
   make optimal; get the most out of; use best wordnet
7. 7
   To become optimal. intransitive

Synonyms

All synonyms

enhanceenhancehoneimproveoptimiseperfect

Antonyms

All antonyms

pessimize

Example

More examples

"If human life is convex, we can optimize it."

Etymology

(1844) Back-formation from optimist.

Related phrases

optimize out

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