materialize

verb

ma·​te·​ri·​al·​ize mə-ˈtir-ē-ə-ˌlīz 

materialized; materializing

transitive verb

1

a

: to make material : objectify

b

: to cause to appear in bodily form

materialize the spirits of the dead

2

: to cause to be materialistic

intransitive verb

1

: to assume bodily form

2

a

: to appear especially suddenly

b

: to come into existence

materializer noun

Synonyms

• actualize
• appear
• arise
• begin
• break
• commence
• dawn
• engender
• form
• originate
• set in
• spring
• start

Examples of materialize in a Sentence

A waiter suddenly materialized beside our table.

Rain clouds materialized on the horizon.

Recent Examples on the Web

But a dusting of snow in the Northeast could materialize on Christmas Eve. —Kenton Gewecke, ABC News, 22 Dec. 2024

Others have yet to materialize, like glasses by the company Looktech that work with a variety of different chatbots and have been billed as potential Meta Ray-Ban killers after the project recently exceeded its funding goal (by far) on Kickstarter. —Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 20 Dec. 2024

While more common in PE, some VCs such as New Enterprise Associates and Insight Partners have established such vehicles, giving them an extended runway for returns to materialize amidst funding winters. —Joash Lee, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024

There has been chatter about getting a deal done for a merger, but things have yet to materialize. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1710, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Kids Definition

materialize

verb

ma·​te·​ri·​al·​ize mə-ˈtir-ē-ə-ˌlīz 

materialized; materializing

1

: to give material form and substance to

2

: to assume or cause to assume bodily form

a ghost materialized out of nowhere

3

a

: to come into existence

a promise that never materialized

b

: to appear suddenly