How to Use colonize in a Sentence

colonize

verb
  • Weeds quickly colonized the field.
  • The island had been colonized by plants and animals.
  • The area was colonized in the 18th century.
  • Space agencies from around the world hope to colonize the moon one day.
    — Nora McGreevy, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 May 2020
  • Much of the roof is gone, and weeds colonize what remains of the floor.
    — Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian, 21 Nov. 2019
  • To colonize there would be to live one's entire life inside a tin can buried in a cave.
    — New Atlas, 15 Feb. 2026
  • The ones who have sort of colonized, at least inside the regime, are Cubans.
    — NBC news, 4 Jan. 2026
  • But this trait, these are the people who colonized this country!
    — Ryan D'agostino, Esquire, 27 Mar. 2014
  • Still, there's a mad scramble under way to colonize the streets.
    — Bernhard Warner, Fortune, 14 June 2021
  • Jeff Bezos seems to have run out of things to colonize here on Earth.
    — Kara Alaimo, CNN, 7 June 2021
  • England asks about colonizing the world for spices, only to find out salt is too much.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2024
  • In other words, the enlarged range would further colonize this area of the park for golf.
    — Blair Kamin, chicagotribune.com, 23 June 2017
  • Elon Musk is putting his dreams of colonizing Mars on hold.
    — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 9 Feb. 2026
  • The hero who is going to colonize Mars doesn’t know what Mars looks like.
    — Fox News, 24 June 2019
  • The condiment had been colonized by multiple molds that looked like green-and-white ridges across the red ground.
    — Thomas Hine, Philly.com, 5 July 2018
  • In the film, he is sent to colonize a new world known as Niflheim and dies dozens of times in the process.
    — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 10 Jan. 2025
  • Her hand is pressed to her chest in a gesture of gratitude, as if to thank him for colonizing her land.
    — Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
  • But within a few years or decades, bacteria and lichen began to colonize the area.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Sep. 2019
  • This all spells bad news as the climate shifts open up new areas for Aspergillus to colonize.
    — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 24 May 2025
  • In Italy, the truffles grow in select spots, colonizing near the roots of oak, beech and poplar trees.
    — Bernhard Warner, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2023
  • Lungfish are thought to be related to the first creatures that crawled out of the water to colonize land.
    — Scientific American, 12 Dec. 2011
  • How many times has the Philippines been colonized or occupied?
    — Ryan MacAsero, Mercury News, 12 June 2026
  • But the backdrop is a very near future where a race of aliens has colonized Earth through economic means.
    — Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 17 Aug. 2023
  • The film stars Robert Pattinson and centers on a clone that’s sent to colonize a new world.
    — Carolyn Giardina, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Mar. 2023
  • The first organisms to colonize the paintings must have eaten the paint itself.
    — Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 11 Jan. 2011
  • And don't forget, Elon's vision is to go to Mars and colonize Mars.
    — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 24 June 2024
  • To her, statues of Inang Maria looked just like any other colonizing gringa.
    — Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Two years ago, students occupied buildings and colonized the quad.
    — Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
  • These microbes colonize on the surface of the case and then break the plastic down into its raw components.
    — Julian Chokkattu, Wired, 8 June 2021
  • Many trace their ancestry to countries that France colonized.
    — Albert Samaha, New Yorker, 30 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'colonize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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