DictionaryAI

minimise

verb
SayMIN-i-myzUK/ˈmɪn.ɪ.maɪz/US/ˈmɪn.ɪˌmaɪz/

Formsminimises, minimising, minimised

US spellingminimize · also used in the UK

3 meanings of minimise

Practice

  1. 1
    reduceverbtransitive
    To reduce something, or bring it down to the smallest amount or degree possible.

    Engineers redesigned the footbridge to minimise vibration in high winds.

    Careful planning minimised disruption to passengers during the engineering works.

    UsageCommon with risk, damage, disruption and the impact: unwanted things you want as small as possible.

    Similarreduce, lessen, limit, cut, curtail

    Oppositemaximise, increase

    Note

    Most British publishers spell it with -ise; minimize is equally correct in Britain and is the American form.

  2. 2
    play downverbtransitive
    To treat someone or something as less important or serious than they really are, or to make them seem so.

    Survivors say officials tried to minimise what had happened to them.

    The minister was accused of minimising the scale of the flooding.

    UsageOften critical: someone accused of minimising a problem is said to have played it down.

    Similardownplay, understate, belittle, trivialise

    Oppositeexaggerate, overstate, emphasise, magnify

    Note

    Here the shrinking happens in the telling, not in the thing itself. That makes a phrase like minimise the damage ambiguous: it can mean limiting the harm, as in the literal meaning, or playing it down after the fact, as an insurer might.

  3. 3
    computer windowverbtransitive
    To take a window off the main area of a computer screen, shrinking it to an icon or a label.

    She minimised every open program to find the file saved on her desktop.

    If you minimise the music player, the song keeps playing in the background.

    UsageNot the same as close: a minimised window stays open and its program usually keeps running.

    Oppositemaximise

    Note

    Here the word belongs to the computer screen: it hides a window without shutting it. A minimised window stays open, its program usually keeps running, and clicking its icon or title in the taskbar or dock brings it back into view.

Practice

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Origin

Formed from Latin minimus with the verb-forming suffix -ise (also spelt -ize).

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts