weaponize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to supply or equip with a weapon or weapons.
to weaponize trucks and helicopters.
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to develop (a chemical, microorganism, etc.) for use as a weapon, as in biological warfare.
to weaponize uranium;
weaponized anthrax.
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to use as a means to gain a powerful advantage.
She has been known to weaponize her femininity.
verb
Other Word Forms
- weaponization noun
Etymology
Origin of weaponize
First recorded in 1955–60; weapon ( def. ) + -ize ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Founders and investors have the ability to weaponize a startup’s balance sheet and make these huge investments at huge valuations to try to anoint a winner and suck all the air out of the room.”
But they pointed to Beijing’s efforts to weaponize its dominance in rare earths and other supply chains as major pressures in a tech world already dealing with heavy demand from AI.
Such a level of coordination among inauthentic online agents was unprecedented – AI models had been weaponized to give rise to a new generation of social agents, much more sophisticated than earlier social bots.
From Salon
Instead, Mr. Stubb argues—and laments—that we now live in a world of weaponized interdependence.
“Especially if any of our trading partners decides to weaponize the dependency we have.”
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
