What does pluralize mean?
Pluralize is a verb meaning to change a word or grammatical form into a plural, or more generally to make something apply to multiple people, things, or instances. Its most familiar use is grammatical: a teacher may ask students to pluralize a singular noun, or a program may pluralize names automatically. The verb can also describe making a statement or representation encompass several subjects rather than one. For example, a report might pluralize a single person's experience by presenting it as representative of a wider group. This use sometimes suggests that individual differences are being reduced to a common pattern, so the word may carry a slightly critical connotation when used of language or social analysis. Pluralize is standard in American English; pluralise is the common British spelling, although both forms are widely understood.
verbTo give a word or grammatical form more than one form, especially by changing a singular noun into its plural. It can also mean to make something consist of multiple parts or instances.
- To change a singular word, especially a noun, into its plural form.
- To make a word, phrase, or concept represent multiple people, things, or instances.
- To make a verb or expression take a plural subject or plural form.
"The software automatically pluralizes the names of imported files."
"The teacher asked students to pluralize the nouns in the paragraph."
"The report pluralizes the experiences of people from many different communities."
Pluralize is the linguistic opposite of asking one word to go it alone: it gives a form more than one grammatical identity.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pluralize come from?
The verb was formed in the late 16th century from plural, meaning more than one, together with the suffix -ize, meaning to make or become. Its deeper roots lie in the Latin pluralis, “containing more than one,” and ultimately in plures, “more,” a word associated with the English cognate plus. The related noun plural and the abstract noun plurality continue to reflect this same Latin source.
Related word forms
How pluralize is actually used
Pluralize is most often used in grammar, linguistics, computing, and formal editing. The spelling pluralise is common in British English, while pluralize is standard in American English. In the sense of making a representation more broadly applicable, the verb can carry the connotation of generalizing or simplifying individual experiences.
Easily confused with pluralize
Pluralise is the chiefly British spelling of the same verb, while pluralize is the standard spelling in American English and is also widely used in British English.