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August 01, 2017 Word of the Day

stabilize /ˈsteɪbəˌlaɪz/ verb
stabilize
/ˈsteɪbəˌlaɪz/
verb

also British stabilise /ˈsteɪbəˌlaɪz/

stabilizes; stabilized; stabilizing

The girl is stabilizing the ladder for her friend.
The girl is stabilizing the ladder for her friend.
Definition of STABILIZE

1 : to become stable or to make (something) stable: such as

a : to stop quickly changing, increasing, getting worse, etc.

[no object]

  • The country's population has stabilized at 3.2 million.

  • Prices have stabilized.

[+ object]

  • The government's efforts to stabilize prices have not succeeded.

  • Even the administration's most vocal critics agree that the President has succeeded in stabilizing the economy.

b [+ object] : to make (something) less easily moved

  • We'll use ropes to stabilize the platform.

c [+ object] technical : to give (something) a chemical structure or to put (something) into a physical state that does not change easily

  • a process that stabilizes the vaccine

2 [+ object] : to make (something) steady

  • drugs that stabilize a patient's heartbeat

  • The pilots were able to stabilize the airplane and land safely.

stabilization also British stabilisation /ˌsteɪbələˈzeɪʃən/ Brit /ˌsteɪbəˌlaɪˈzeɪʃən/ noun [noncount]

  • political/economic stabilization

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