Symbolise or symbolize?
symbolise is a verb meaning “Alternative form of symbolize”; symbolize is a verb meaning “To be symbolic of; to represent”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) symbolize is about 3.5 times as common as symbolise.
What is the difference between symbolise and symbolize?
| symbolise | symbolize | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb | verb |
| Meaning | UKAlternative form of symbolize | To be symbolic of; to represent To use symbols; to represent ideas symbolically |
| Example | none recorded | Doves often symbolize peace |
| Forms | symbolises, symbolising, symbolised | symbolizes, symbolizing, symbolized |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˈsɪmbəlaɪz/ |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words | 1.1 times per million words |
Sources: symbolise and symbolize 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 symbolise and symbolize
symbolise
- 1
UKAlternative form of symbolize
symbolize
- 1
To be symbolic of; to represent
Doves often symbolize peace
- 2
To use symbols; to represent ideas symbolically
- 3
To convert something into a symbol
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, symbolise or symbolize?
symbolise appears about once in every 3 million words; symbolize 1.1 times per million words.
symbolise about once in every 3 million wordssymbolize 1.1 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).