Word family noun minimum minimalism minimalist adjective minimal minimum minimalist verb minimize adverb minimally minimum
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishminimizemin‧i‧mize (also minimise British English) /ˈmɪnəmaɪz/ ●●○ AWL verb [transitive] 1 REDUCEto reduce something that is difficult, dangerous, or unpleasant to the smallest possible amount or degree OPP maximize Every effort is being made to minimize civilian casualties. The rail company is bringing in more trains in an effort to minimize disruption to travellers.2 UNIMPORTANTto make something seem less serious or important than it really is SYN play down We must not minimize the problem of racial discrimination.3 to make a document or program on your computer very small when you are not using it but still want to keep it open OPP maximize Click on the top of the window to minimize it.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
minimize• Some creasing is inevitable but it can be minimized by judicious stretching of the liner as the pool fills.• The first is that it is hard to ensure that the industry really does minimize costs.• Pipes are outside the buildings to minimize damage in case of an earthquake.• By contrast, a recreational paddler in a remote gorge will want to maximize safety and minimize energy expenditure.• He is meticulous in developing, implementing and maintaining systems which minimize inventory and maximize profit.• To minimize risks, they would not be required to disarm the several militia groups responsible for recent massacres.• Before you sell any mutual funds, minimize taxes by checking different ways of computing costs.• White House officials sought to minimize the importance of the meeting.• Peers working together minimize the pain of some schoolwork, while promoting learning and cooperation for both.• The city is working on plans to minimize traffic problems.From Longman Business Dictionaryminimizemin‧i‧mize /ˈmɪnəmaɪz/ (also minimise British English) verb [transitive]1to make something as small as possibleInvesting in unit trusts minimises the risks if stock markets fall.We need to minimize our transport costs.2COMPUTING to make a WINDOW on a computer screen as small as possibleClick on the small square to minimise the window. → opposite maximize→ See Verb table 