Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To apply methods of business to for profit.
  • transitive verb To do, exploit, or make chiefly for financial gain.
  • transitive verb To sacrifice the quality of for profit.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To render commercial in character, methods, or spirit; make a matter of trade.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun to make something commercial in character, either by placing it for sale on the open market, or by emphasizing its profit-making aspects.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive to apply business methodology to something in order to profit
  • verb transitive to exploit something for maximum financial gain, sometimes by sacrificing quality

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb exploit for maximal profit, usually by sacrificing quality
  • verb make commercial

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

commercial +‎ -ize

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Examples

  • There are two very different types of startup: one kind that evolves naturally, and one kind that's called into being to "commercialize" a scientific discovery.

    A Local Revolution? 2009

  • Mr. Stern also said he felt somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of Sanitation paying rent to the trust, as it might not even be legal for the trust to "commercialize" the pier in that way.

    Park Frozen As City Trucks Blockade Pier 2004

  • Company officials have said they need another $5 million to "commercialize" the cars they have designed.

    NYT > Home Page By MIKE SORAGHAN of <a class="linkedGraphic" href= 2010

  • Fujitsu plans to "commercialize" the technology later this year in the Japanese market, but provided no specific product plans.

    The Register 2010

  • Another idea floated by McAuliffe: doing more to, in his words, "commercialize" university research.

    News for Charlottesville Daily Progress 2009

  • He mentions that he likes keeping his music within the fan based community rather than "commercialize" it.

    Harry Potter's Page :: Feed Your Harry Potter Addiction :: 2009

  • Because of the Act, many universities set up "tech transfer offices" to try to "commercialize" the research going on at those universities.

    Techdirt 2009

  • Defenders of Wildlife and other groups opposed the addition of snares and other changes to the program, saying it would "commercialize" predator control of bears by allowing the skins to be resold by wholesalers and not requiring hunters to keep the meat.

    Anchorage Daily News - Alaska News 2009

  • Another idea floated by McAuliffe: doing more to, in his words, "commercialize" university research.

    News for Richmond Times-Dispatch 2009

  • Another idea floated by McAuliffe: doing more to, in his words, "commercialize" university research.

    News for Richmond Times-Dispatch 2009

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