as in to inhabit
to supply with inhabitants
believes that someday humans will be sent to colonize Mars
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Recent Examples of colonize
The idea that humans could one day populate and even colonize Mars is one no longer confined to the realm of science fiction.
—
Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2025
Calculating the costs of colonizing other planets remains elusive.
—James Cramer, Baltimore Sun, 20 Aug. 2025
The mine sits just north of the Duck Valley Reservation on the Sho-Pai’s homelands, an area their ancestors were forcibly removed from over a century ago when Europeans colonized the West and corralled them into the remote reservation with little resources on the Idaho-Nevada border.
—Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 19 Aug. 2025
Cortés is more famous, however, for exploring and colonizing the Mayan kingdom in 1519 — ignoring orders to stand down from Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, Cuba's governor — and soon after conquering the Aztecs and their emperor, Moctezuma.
—Patrick Smith, NBC news, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for colonize
Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2025
Calculating the costs of colonizing other planets remains elusive.
—James Cramer, Baltimore Sun, 20 Aug. 2025
The mine sits just north of the Duck Valley Reservation on the Sho-Pai’s homelands, an area their ancestors were forcibly removed from over a century ago when Europeans colonized the West and corralled them into the remote reservation with little resources on the Idaho-Nevada border.
—Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 19 Aug. 2025
Cortés is more famous, however, for exploring and colonizing the Mayan kingdom in 1519 — ignoring orders to stand down from Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, Cuba's governor — and soon after conquering the Aztecs and their emperor, Moctezuma.
—Patrick Smith, NBC news, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for colonize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonize
Verb
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In San Francisco, a development called Hunters View built in 1956 to provide temporary workforce housing was still inhabited and badly deteriorating by the early 2000s.—
Jeffrey Steele,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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Once inhabited by some of the city’s wealthiest families, Troost was the target of restrictive covenants in the early 20th century that drew a distinct line of separation.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Just around the corner, about 210 students populated Johnson Elementary on a campus meant for 480.—
Mila Koumpilova,
ProPublica,
9 Sep. 2025
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Today, almost every Apple device—or indeed, most of the smart devices populating our workplaces and homes—draws its intelligence from Arm's innovative chipset architecture.—
Tim Bajarin,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Diamandis’s network, known to its constituents as the Peterverse, is largely peopled by slim, graying, well-off men who finger their Oura rings like horcruxes.—
Tad Friend,
New Yorker,
4 Aug. 2025
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The mountains are peopled with guides, trail keepers and fellow travelers, as well as those who have died on their treks when the weather turned.—
Sadie Stein,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Colonize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonize. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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