1. to make a word or phrase part of the vocabulary of a language
Usage: linguistics
2. to express something as a single word rather than as a phrase or construction
Usage: linguistics

Examples

• English has lexicalized many French borrowings over the centuries.
• The compound ‘blackboard’ became lexicalized as a single unit.
• Some languages lexicalize concepts that others express with phrases.
• The phrase ‘ice cream’ has been lexicalized in English.
• Linguists study how languages lexicalize different semantic concepts.
• New technologies often lexicalize technical terms into everyday vocabulary.