socialize

socialize — verb

1. to spend time with friends, family, or other people in a relaxed way because you

1.verbintransitiveA2
Definition

to spend time with friends, family, or other people in a relaxed way because you enjoy their company, rather than because you have to work.

Example

Ayesha enjoys socializing with her colleagues after work at the local café.

socialize + with + someone after work

The conference gave Haruto a chance to socialize with other doctors from across Asia.

a chance to socialize + with + [group] at an event

Common collocations
  • socialize with
  • socialize after work
  • socialize at parties
  • meet and socialize
  • eat and socialize
Synonyms
  • mix

    more informal; 'mix with' suggests moving among different people at an event (e.g. 'He mixed with guests from all departments.')

  • mingle

    slightly more formal; often used at parties or networking events ('Guests mingled in the garden before dinner.')

  • interact

    broader and more neutral; can include work-related or formal exchanges, not just enjoyment

  • hang out

    very informal; used for casual time with close friends ('They just hung out at the mall.')

Antonyms
  • isolate

    to avoid contact with others or stay alone

  • withdraw

    to remove oneself from social situations deliberately

Grammar Patterns

socialize + with + someone

Usage Note

This sense is nearly always intransitive — it needs 'with' or a location phrase to say who or where you spend time with socially. In informal British English, 'socialise' is the usual spelling.

Common Mistakes

I want to socialize my classmates.
I want to socialize with my classmates.
When 'socialize' means spending time for enjoyment, it must be followed by 'with' before the person or group.
We socialized at his house for three hours.
We spent three hours socializing at his house.
While grammatically acceptable, the continuous form (-ing) is far more natural for describing the activity.

2. to teach a person or an animal to behave in the ways that the group or society a

2.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to teach a person or an animal to behave in the ways that the group or society around them considers normal and acceptable — for example, teaching children to share, or training a puppy to be calm around strangers.

Example

At school, children are socialized to follow rules and work together in groups.

passive: children are socialized to [do something]

Ezra's puppy was carefully socialized to feel safe around other dogs and new people.

Common collocations
  • socialize children
  • socialize puppies
  • be socialized into
  • properly socialized
  • poorly socialized
  • become socialized
Synonyms
  • acculturate

    more formal and academic; refers specifically to adopting the cultural patterns of a group

  • assimilate

    implies a minority adopting the majority culture, often with loss of original identity

  • integrate

    focuses on becoming part of a group or system, not just learning behaviour

Grammar Patterns

be socialized + into + something

socialize + someone + to do something

Usage Note

Frequently used in the passive. The subject is usually an institution (family, school, society) and the object is a person or animal being trained. 'Socialize into' emphasizes the specific set of norms or roles being taught. Distinguish from Sense 1: Sense 2 is transitive (someone socializes someone else), whereas Sense 1 is intransitive (you socialize with others).

Common Mistakes

Teachers socialize math skills to students.
Teachers help socialize students into the classroom community.
'Socialize' here is about teaching behaviour and social norms, not transmitting academic knowledge or skills.
We socialized the new employee.' (meaning we were friendly to them)
We socialized with the new employee.
The transitive sense (Sense 2) implies training in norms, not casual friendliness.

3. to organize and run an industry, a service, or a company according to socialist

3.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to organize and run an industry, a service, or a company according to socialist principles, so that the community or the state owns and controls it instead of private individuals or shareholders.

Example

The new government proposed to socialize the country's entire healthcare system.

socialize + [service/sector]

Critics argued that plans to socialize the steel industry would reduce competition and raise costs.

Common collocations
  • socialize healthcare
  • socialize industry
  • socialize the means of production
  • socialized medicine
Synonyms
  • nationalize

    more common and specific — means the state takes ownership of an industry or company ('The government nationalized the railway system.')

  • collectivize

    implies pooling resources under group or state control, often used for agriculture

Antonyms
  • privatize

    to transfer ownership from the state to private individuals or companies

Grammar Patterns

socialize + [industry/service]

be socialized + into [public ownership]

Usage Note

This sense is strongly tied to political and economic discussion. It is less common in everyday conversation and is rarely used with people as objects. Distinguish from Sense 2: Sense 3 is about reorganising institutions (industries, services) under state control, not about teaching individuals social norms.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

'Socialize' is the most general verb for spending time with people in a relaxed, non-work context. 'Mix' (often 'mix with') is more informal and suggests moving among different people at an event rather than staying with one group. 'Mingle' is slightly more formal and is typical of party or networking settings where people circulate. 'Interact' is the broadest of the four — it can describe any kind of mutual action, including work-related exchanges, and doesn't carry the same sense of relaxed enjoyment. 'Hang out' is very informal and implies unstructured, casual time with close friends. In practical use: if you are at a conference, you might socialize with colleagues over coffee, mingle with unfamiliar guests at the reception, interact with a presenter during Q&A, and then hang out with old friends at a bar afterwards.

mix ↗mingle ↗interact ↗hang out ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • socialize with someone
  • be socialized into something
  • socialize the means of production

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word combines 'social' (from Latin 'socialis' meaning 'of companionship, allied, united with others') with the verb-forming suffix '-ize' (from Greek '-izein'). It entered English in the early 1820s with the meaning 'to make social' or 'to bring under common ownership' (today's senses 2 and 3). The everyday meaning of 'spending time with people for enjoyment' (sense 1) developed later, in the late 19th century.