Socialise or socialize?
socialise is a verb meaning “Alternative form of socialize”; socialize is a verb meaning “To interact with others, especially personally, informally and off the clock…”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) socialize is about 3.6 times as common as socialise.
What is the difference between socialise and socialize?
| socialise | socialize | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb | verb |
| Meaning | Alternative form of socialize | To interact with others, especially personally, informally and off the clock rather than formally and officially To instruct (somebody), usually subconsciously and mostly by example, in the etiquette of a society |
| Example | none recorded | hoping to socialize a bit at the company holiday party |
| Forms | socialises, socialising, socialised | socializes, socializing, socialized |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˈsoʊʃəlaɪz/ |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words | 1.4 times per million words |
Sources: socialise and socialize in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of socialise and socialize
socialise
- 1
Alternative form of socialize
socialize
- 1
To interact with others, especially personally, informally and off the clock rather than formally and officially
hoping to socialize a bit at the company holiday party
- 2
To instruct (somebody), usually subconsciously and mostly by example, in the etiquette of a society
depending on how children are socialized regarding racial and ethnic biases
- 3
To take something into collective or governmental ownership
Near-synonym: nationalize
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, socialise or socialize?
socialise appears about once in every 3 million words; socialize 1.4 times per million words.
socialise about once in every 3 million wordssocialize 1.4 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).