What does colonise mean?
To colonise is to establish a presence and control over a territory that is new to you — most famously, for one nation to settle and govern another land and its peoples. The word is central to discussions of empire: European powers colonised much of Africa, Asia, and the Americas between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries, and modern debates about decolonisation use the same vocabulary in reverse. Beyond politics, colonise has a neutral, scientific life of its own: ecologists describe how plants colonise bare ground after a volcanic eruption, and microbiologists describe how bacteria colonise the human gut. There is even a figurative usage, as when a company colonises a new market. Because of its imperial associations, the verb carries heavy connotations in historical and political contexts, but in science it is simply descriptive. British English spells it with an s, while American English uses a z — the two spellings are interchangeable in meaning.
verbTo establish a colony in a place, especially by settling people there and taking political control of it; also used more broadly to mean establishing organisms or things in an area where they were previously absent.
- (of a country or people) to establish a colony in another territory, taking political control and settling its own people there.
- (of animals, plants, or microorganisms) to establish themselves in a habitat or environment where they were not previously present.
- (figuratively) to take over or dominate a place, field, or market as if occupying new territory.
"Britain began to colonise Australia in the late eighteenth century."
"European powers raced to colonise Africa during the late nineteenth century."
"Within days of the wound being exposed to air, bacteria had begun to colonise the tissue."
The same word that describes empires claiming continents also describes bacteria quietly taking over your gut — colonise is history and biology in one.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of colonise
Colonise derives from Latin colere, meaning "to till, cultivate, inhabit," through the noun colonia, a Roman settlement of citizen-farmers on conquered land. It entered English in the early seventeenth century via colonial Latin and French influences, alongside related words such as colony and colonial. The Latin root colere also gives us cultivate and culture, making these distant relatives sharing a common ancestor.
Related word forms
How colonise is actually used
"Colonise" is the standard British spelling; American English uses "colonize." The verb carries strongly negative connotations when applied to human settlement, given its association with imperial conquest and exploitation, so writers discussing historical contexts should be aware of this charged history. In scientific writing (ecology, microbiology), however, the word is neutral and purely descriptive. The figurative sense — e.g. a brand "colonising" a market — is informal and often slightly ironic.
Easily confused with colonise
"Colonise" is simply the British spelling of the same word; "colonize" with a z is the American spelling — they do not differ in meaning.