Optimization

How to spell optimization

12 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce optimization

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does optimization mean?

1. nounThe act or process of making something as effective, efficient, or favourable as possible.

Optimization in a sentence

• The team focused on optimization of the delivery routes to cut fuel costs.

• Search engine optimization helped the small business appear higher in results.

Where does optimization come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word ultimately rests on the Latin optimus, meaning 'best' or 'most excellent', which was the superlative form of bonus, 'good'. In the early nineteenth century English coined the verb 'optimize', meaning to make something as good or as effective as possible, and the abstract noun 'optimization' followed to name the act or process of doing so. The same optimus root sits behind the cheerful word 'optimist', a person who expects the best outcome, so the two relatives both look on the bright side. The word became especially common in twentieth century mathematics, engineering, and economics, where it describes finding the values that produce the best possible result. The tricky spelling is the unstressed middle: the schwa vowels in 'op-tim-i-za-tion' give no clue whether to write an i, and the -ize/-ization ending is the form preferred in American and Canadian usage and accepted in British usage too.

How the word is built

• optim- (from Latin optimus: best)
• -ize (to make/verb suffix)
• -ation (act or process; noun suffix)