# patronize

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈpeɪtɹənaɪz/ · frequency rank #40,830

## Definitions
1. To act as a patron of; to defend, protect, or support.
2. To make oneself a customer of a business, especially a regular customer.
3. To assume a tone of unjustified superiority toward; to talk down to, to treat condescendingly.
4. To blame, to reproach.

## Etymology
From patron + -ize (verb ending); or from Old French patroniser, from Medieval Latin patronizāre (“to lead a galley as patron”). Piecewise doublet of patternize.

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

## Common misspellings (13)
`aptronize`, `partonize`, `patornize`, `patrnoize`, `patroinze`, `patroniez`, `patronizze`, `patronnize`, `patronzie`, `patrronize`, `pattronize`, `ppatronize`, `ptaronize`

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