Analyze

How to spell analyze

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce analyze

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does analyze mean?

1. verbTo examine something in detail by breaking it into its parts in order to understand or explain it.

Analyze in a sentence

• The accountant will analyze last quarter's spending before the meeting.

• Researchers analyze the survey data to spot recurring patterns.

Where does analyze come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek verb analuein, which literally meant 'to unloose' or 'to undo', formed from ana- meaning 'up' or 'throughout' and luein meaning 'to loosen'. The related noun analusis described the act of breaking something apart into its component pieces, and from there it grew the figurative sense of taking an idea, a problem, or a substance apart to understand how it works. The noun reached English in the late 1500s through Medieval Latin and French, and the verb was formed shortly after, partly modelled on the French analyser. The American spelling 'analyze' keeps the -yze ending, while British writers settled on -yse; both preserve the buried Greek lysis root, which is the same element you can see in 'paralyze' and 'catalyst'. Remembering that the core is 'lys' (loosening) helps fix the y in the middle.

How the word is built

• ana- (up, throughout)
• -lyze (from Greek lysis: a loosening or breaking apart)

British and American spelling

Analyze is the American spelling. British English spells it analyse.