globalize

IPA/ˈɡləʊbəlaɪz/
KK[ɡlˈobəlˌaɪz]IPA/ˈɡləʊbəlaɪz/

globalize — verb

  • globalizepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • globalizeshe / she / it
  • globalizedpast simple
  • globalizing-ing form

1. to expand a business, brand, or activity beyond one country so it operates and c

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveC1
Definition

to expand a business, brand, or activity beyond one country so it operates and competes across many countries around the world.

Example

Kian's grandfather wanted to globalize the family tea business by opening shops in Europe and South America.

globalize + [company/business] as the typical object

Streaming platforms have globalized pop music; teenagers in Lagos now share playlists with teenagers in Seoul.

subject is a technology/platform; object is a cultural product

Common collocations
  • globalize a company
  • globalize an industry
  • globalize a brand
  • globalize production
Synonyms
  • internationalize

    closely related; emphasises operating across nations rather than reaching every part of the world

  • expand

    more general; can refer to any growth, not just cross-border growth

  • go global

    informal phrasal verb with the same meaning; common in business writing

Antonyms
  • localize

    tailor a product or service to fit one specific country or region

Grammar Patterns

globalize + [a company/industry/market]

be globalized

Usage Note

Subject is usually a company, industry, market, technology, or cultural product — not an ordinary person. Frequently passive (be globalized) when describing historical change.

Common Mistakes

My uncle globalized to Canada last year.
My uncle moved to Canada last year.
globalize is about businesses or industries spreading worldwide, not individual people relocating.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four describe a company or activity growing beyond its home country, but they differ in scope and register. Globalize is the strongest term: it implies a company reaches most of the world and adapts its products for many regions, so people talk about globalizing an industry or a brand. Internationalize is narrower — a firm enters several foreign markets but is not necessarily everywhere; companies first internationalize, and only later globalize. Expand is the most general and the most neutral; you can expand within one country, so it does not by itself signal cross-border growth. Go global is informal and very common in journalism: 'After the deal, the start-up plans to go global within five years.' Use globalize for the full worldwide-scale shift and expand for ordinary growth talk.

globalize ↗internationalize ↗expand ↗go global

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • rapidly globalize
  • fully globalize
  • increasingly globalize

Phrases

  • pressure to globalize
  • decision to globalize
  • strategy to globalize

Prepositions

  • globalize through (trade, technology)
  • globalize across (markets, regions)

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed in English in the mid-twentieth century by adding the verb-making suffix '-ize' to the adjective 'global', which itself comes from Latin 'globus' meaning 'ball' or 'sphere' — the same root that gives us 'globe'. The verb spread quickly in business and academic writing from the 1960s onward as international trade and communications grew.