Stabilizing

How to spell stabilizing

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce stabilizing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does stabilizing mean?

1. verbMaking something firm, steady, or resistant to change or collapse.

Stabilizing in a sentence

• The central bank is stabilizing the currency by raising interest rates.

• A wide base helps in stabilizing the tall bookshelf against tipping.

Where does stabilizing come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin adjective stabilis, meaning 'firm', 'steady', or 'able to stand', which itself was built on the verb stare, 'to stand'. From the same family English inherited 'stable', 'establish', and even 'stamina', all carrying the idea of standing firm. The adjective 'stable' arrived through Old French in the 1200s, and centuries later writers fashioned the verb 'stabilize' by adding the Greek-derived suffix -ize, meaning 'to make' or 'to render', a coinage that became common in the 1800s as science and engineering needed a word for making something steady. The present participle 'stabilizing' simply adds -ing to that verb. The spelling trap lies in the unstressed middle: the schwa vowel in the '-bil-' syllable and the choice between -iz- and -is- endings, since the same word also appears as 'stabilising' in much British writing.

How the word is built

• stab- (from Latin stabilis: firm, steady)
• -il-
• -ize (verb-forming suffix: to make)
• -ing (present participle)

British and American spelling

Stabilizing is the American spelling. British English spells it stabilising.