capitalize

especially British, cap·i·tal·ise

[kap-i-tl-ahyz]

verb (used with object)

capitalized, capitalizing 

1. to write or print in capital letters letters or with an initial capital letter.

2. to authorize a certain amount of stocks and bonds in the corporate charter of.

   to capitalize a corporation.

3. to issue stock as a dividend, thereby capitalizing retained earnings, or as settlement of an unpaid arrearage of preferred dividends.

4. Accounting.,  to set up (expenditures) as business assets in the books of account instead of treating as expense.

5. to supply with capital.

6. to estimate the value of (a stock or an enterprise).

verb (used without object)

capitalized, capitalizing 

1. to take advantage of; turn something to one's advantage (often followed byon ).

   to capitalize on one's opportunities.

   Synonyms: utilize, exploit

capitalize

/ ˈkæpɪtəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. to take advantage (of); profit (by)

2. to write or print (text) in capital letters or with the first letter of (a word or words) in capital letters

3. to convert (debt or retained earnings) into capital stock

4. to authorize (a business enterprise) to issue a specified amount of capital stock

5. to provide with capital

6. accounting to treat (expenditures) as assets

7. 1. to estimate the present value of (a periodical income)

   2. to compute the present value of (a business) from actual or potential earnings

Other Word Forms

• capitalizable adjective
• capitalizer noun
• noncapitalized adjective
• uncapitalized adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of capitalize¹

An Americanism dating back to 1755–65; capital ¹ + -ize

Example Sentences

With a new gap in the airline industry, competitors such as United Airlines and Frontier Airlines have already announced additional flights and routes aimed at capitalizing on Spirit’s fallout.

From Los Angeles Times

Neither has capitalized on the other’s mistakes, engaged in what has become a race to the bottom to see who can struggle more.

From Los Angeles Times

Like the show it criticizes, it is an exercise in rubbernecking, capitalizing on the contestants’ anguish and suffering instead of offering healthy media analysis in hindsight as medicine.

From Salon

It’s an unusually high-profile move by Netflix into cinemas, which is using the big screen experience to capitalize on and promote one of its biggest wins.

From Los Angeles Times

And of all networks, HBO knows how best to capitalize on such buzzed-about moments: The network’s “Inside the Episode” programs have long offered viewers the chance to process shocking plot twists and jaw-dropping deaths.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• exploit 
• take advantage of 

When To Use

What does capitalize mean?

To capitalize a word is to make its first letter a capital letter—an uppercase letter. For example, to capitalize the word polish (which is here spelled with a lowercase p), you would write it as Polish. A word whose first letter is a capital can be described as capitalized. The state of being capitalized (or the process of capitalizing) is called capitalization, as in Please check your paper for proper punctuation and capitalization.  In English, words are capitalized for a few different reasons. It is considered a standard rule of English to capitalize proper nouns (which are nouns that refer to specific people, places, or things—meaning one’s that have specific names), such as Jess, Mexico, and Nintendo. Capitalizing a word can change the way the reader interprets its meaning, as in the case of polish (a verb meaning to make something shinier) and Polish (an adjective describing someone from Poland) or apple (the fruit) and Apple (the company).We also capitalize the first word in a sentence. Sometimes, we capitalize the first letter of each word in a title, as in To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. Example: A lot of people don’t bother to capitalize words when sending text messages. Capitalize also has several other meanings. To capitalize on something means to take advantage of it. You can capitalize on an opportunity or a situation by doing something to benefit from it in some way.Example: The company is capitalizing on the publicity by releasing new merchandise. In the context of finance, capitalize is used in more specific and technical ways. The most straightforward sense of the word in this context means to supply with capital (money).Example: Most startups are capitalized by friends and family members before they’re able to secure significant funding.