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
Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 28 Oct. 2025
Wellsense highlights that its Fli solutions are designed for versatility, supporting a broad spectrum of well applications such as production optimization, well integrity evaluation, stimulation monitoring, and abandonment planning.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 28 Oct. 2025
Still, this gives Microsoft visibility into things like OpenAI’s model training infrastructure and optimization methods, along with the opportunity to take what it’s learned from OpenAI’s research methods and apply that knowledge to develop its own AGI models.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2025
Behavioral finance research shows that human brains are wired for short-term comfort, not long-term optimization.
—Bruce Helmer, Twin Cities, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for optimization
Cite this Entry
“Optimization.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/optimization. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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