# colonize

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈkɑlənaɪz/ · frequency rank #37,860

## Definitions
1. To settle (a place) with colonists, and hence make (a place) into a colony.
2. To settle among and establish control over (the indigenous people of an area).
3. To begin a colony or colonies.
4. To intrude into and take over (the autonomy, experience, social movement, etc, of a less powerful person or group); to commandeer or appropriate.
5. To settle (a group of people, a species, or the like) in a place as a colony.

## Etymology
From colony + -ize.

## Easily confused with
- **colonial** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colonial-vs-colonize)

## Common misspellings (11)
`ccolonize`, `cloonize`, `collonize`, `colnoize`, `coloinze`, `coloniez`, `colonizze`, `colonnize`, `colonzie`, `coolnize`, `oclonize`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/colonize