de ‧ cen ‧ tral ‧ ize BrE AmE ( also decentralise British English ) /ˌdiːˈsentrəlaɪz/ verb [intransitive and 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 move parts of a government, organization etc from a central place to several different smaller ones OPP centralize :
Many firms are decentralizing their operations.
—decentralized adjective :
a decentralized economy
—decentralization /diːˌsentrəlaɪˈzeɪʃ ə n $ -lə-/ noun [uncountable]