Minimizing

How to spell minimizing

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce minimizing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does minimizing mean?

1. verbReducing something to the smallest possible amount, size, or importance.

Minimizing in a sentence

• The finance team spent the quarter minimizing overhead costs without cutting jobs.

• The safety review was aimed at minimizing the risk of injury on the factory floor.

Where does minimizing come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin minimus, meaning 'smallest' or 'least', which is itself the superlative of parvus, 'small'. From minimus English already had related forms such as 'minim' and 'minimum', and in the early nineteenth century writers built the verb 'minimize' to mean 'to reduce something to the smallest possible amount or importance'. The present participle 'minimizing' simply adds the -ing ending to that verb. The spelling trap sits in the middle: the unstressed second syllable is a faint schwa, so writers easily forget the second 'i' that belongs to the minim- root. The -ize ending here reflects the Greek-derived -izein verb pattern that Latin borrowed and English inherited, which is why the z spelling is historically well grounded even though many British writers prefer -ise.

How the word is built

• minim- (from Latin minimus: smallest)
• -ize (verb-forming suffix)
• -ing (present participle)

British and American spelling

Minimizing is the American spelling. British English spells it minimising.