optimization
noun
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Optimization started its gradual perfection in mid-19th-century English, when it was derived from optimize, a word first used in the early part of that same century with the meaning "to make the best or most of." In basic applications, optimization refers to the act or process of making something as good as it can be. In the 21st century, it has seen much use in technical contexts having to do with attaining the best possible functionality, as in "network optimization" and "search engine optimization" (SEO). Like the words optimum and optimism (which refer, respectively, to the amount or degree of something that is best or most effective, and to a feeling or belief that good things will happen in the future), optimize and optimization derive from Latin optimus, meaning "best."
Examples of optimization in a Sentence
Julian Rose, Artforum, 26 Mar. 2026
The founder clarified the company’s workers don’t use AI to submit applications on behalf of their clients, save for some résumé optimization functions as well as outreach on LinkedIn and email.
—Jake Angelo, Fortune, 25 Mar. 2026
To help address this, Peralta curated the platform, prioritizing adaptability at every stage, from design to deployment to real-time operation, allowing the machines to generate new actions through dynamic task and route optimization when faced with different variables.
—Maria Williams, USA Today, 24 Mar. 2026
Then there's evolutionary programming, which is a class of optimization algorithms that take their cues from natural selection.
—Paul Sutter, Space.com, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for optimization
Cite this Entry
“Optimization.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/optimization. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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