customizev.
/ˈkʌstəmʌɪz/, U.S. /ˈkəstəˌmaɪz/ Originally U.S.
transitive. To create or modify (something) according to a customer's individual specifications or requirements. More generally: to modify (something) to suit a particular person, situation, task, etc. Cf. personalize v. 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacture or production > manufacture or produce [verb (transitive)] > make to order
customize1920
the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > adaptation or adjustment > adapt or adjust [verb (transitive)] > adapt to customer's requirements
customize1920
spec1986
1920 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Disp. 3 Oct. v. 5 (advt.) Hickey-Freeman workmanship, customized by the liberal use of the finest hand-tailoring, reveals the delicacy and feeling of true artists.
1963 Engineering 31 May 740/1 A new and more economical means of obtaining a Grand Tourer was devised by ‘customizing’ an ordinary production sports car.
1971 Sci. Amer. Aug. 100/1 (advt.) A user in virtually any discipline now can customize a powerful new programmable calculator to his specific computational needs.
1982 Giant Bk. Electronics Projects ii. 115 The circuit..can be customized by the builder.
2011 St. Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press (Nexis) 8 Oct. One-on-one time with a teacher who customizes a lesson plan to fit the individual..is priceless.
Derivatives
ˈcustomized adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > merchandise > article(s) to be sold > [adjective] > custom-made or bespoke
bespoken1607
bespoke1755
custom1757
custom-made1819
handmade1883
custom-built1908
customized1927
the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > adaptation or adjustment > [adjective] > able to be > adapted to customer's requirements
customized1927
pimped-out1988
1927 Amer. Speech 2 515 Signs at Buffalo, New York, advertise Freeman and Hickey's ‘Customized Clothes’.
1960 Times 14 Sept. 12/7 In the shops [in the United States], too, much time is saved with such contractions as ‘Customized Drapes’ which really reads much more dashingly than ‘Curtains made to customers' specifications’.
1970 Daily Tel. 26 Jan. 11/3 The cult of ‘customised’ transport—cars and motorcycles sculpted and plastered to express the personal fantasies of their owners.
2009 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 21 Oct. a15 (advt.) Easily connect with one of our noncommissioned advisors for customized, objective advice.
ˈcustomizer n. a person who customizes something, esp. a motor vehicle.
ΚΠ
1959 N.Y. Times 29 Nov. 83/1 Customizer, he found, was a youngster who delighted in changing the appearance of the family car.
1987 Guns & Weapons User Summer 39/1 Newport based pistolsmith and customizer, Adrian Cook send us a tuned up S+W 686.
1998 Washington Post (Nexis) 7 Aug. n7 The ultimate customizer of your friendly confines is Pete Reynolds of National Pastimes Consultants.
2004 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 4 July viii. 11/4 The customizers who ‘pimp’ their rides with gargantuan tires and costly, flashy wheels.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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