popularize

verb

pop·​u·​lar·​ize ˈpä-pyə-lə-ˌrīz 

popularized; popularizing

intransitive verb

: to cater to popular taste

transitive verb

: to make popular: such as

a

: to cause to be liked or esteemed

b

: to present in generally understandable or interesting form

popularization

ˌpä-pyə-lə-rə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

popularizer

ˈpä-pyə-lə-ˌrī-zər 

noun

Examples of popularize in a Sentence

a phrase that was popularized by its use in a hit TV show

Dream analysis was popularized by Sigmund Freud.

The book presents a popularized version of American history.

Recent Examples on the Web

Scream helped popularize Caller ID … for obvious reasons. —Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 1 Nov. 2024

These sites combine results from dozens, if not hundreds, of surveys, and many run a style of election simulation popularized by Nate Silver, who foundedFiveThirtyEight (now 538). —Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 31 Oct. 2024

The novel helped popularize the genre of steampunk, in which nineteenth- and twentieth-century technologies are merged. —Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2024

The club also helped popularize baseball in a series of prewar goodwill tours in Japan and Korea. —Emilie Ikeda, NBC News, 29 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably borrowed from French populariser "to present in a favorable light, make popular," from populaire popular + -iser -ize

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Kids Definition

popularize

verb

pop·​u·​lar·​ize ˈpäp-yə-lə-ˌrīz 

popularized; popularizing

: to make popular

popularization

ˌpäp-yə-lə-rə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

popularizer

ˈpäp-yə-lə-ˌrī-zər 

noun