mod ‧ ern ‧ ize BrE AmE ( also modernise British English ) /ˈmɒdənaɪz $ ˈmɑːdər-/ verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ modernity , ↑ modernization , ↑ modernism , modernist, ↑ modernity , ↑ modernizer , ↑ modernization ; adjective : ↑ modern , ↑ modernist , ↑ modernistic ; verb : ↑ modernize ]
1 . [transitive] to make something such as a system or building more modern:
They need more funds to modernize the country’s telephone system.
a tastefully modernized old farmhouse
2 . [intransitive] to start using more modern methods and equipment:
The business will lose money if it doesn’t modernize.
—modernizer noun [countable] :
the conflict between the modernizers and the conservatives
—modernization /ˌmɒdənaɪˈzeɪʃ ə n $ ˌmɑːdərnə-/ noun [uncountable] :
the modernization of the railway system