cen ‧ tral ‧ ize BrE AmE ( also centralise British English ) /ˈsentrəlaɪz/ verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : CENTRE/CENTER , ↑ centralization ≠ ↑ decentralization , ↑ centralism , ↑ centrist ; adjective : ↑ central , ↑ centralized ≠ ↑ decentralized , CENTRED/CENTERED , ↑ centrist ; verb : CENTRE/CENTER , ↑ centralize ≠ ↑ decentralize ; adverb : ↑ centrally ]
to organize the control of a country, organization, or system so that everything is done or decided in one place OPP decentralize :
plans to centralize the company’s U.S. activities
—centralized adjective :
a centralized database
—centralization /ˌsentrəlaɪˈzeɪʃ ə n $ -lə-/ noun [uncountable]