Sample sentences for CAPITALIZE

2 meanings

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1 —as in:
capitalize the business

Definition

provide investment funds for something — such as a business

How can we capitalize the new company?

capitalize = provide investment funds for

It was fifteen thousand for a first-class ticket, but I'm sufficiently capitalized to indulge such whims.
John Green -- The Fault in Our Stars

capitalized = provided with funds

Dictionary / pronunciation — Google^®Dictionary / more samples — Oxford^® US Dictionary list — Onelook.com^®

2 —as in:
capitalize on our strength

Definition

benefit from an advantage

How can we capitalize on being first with this idea?

capitalize on = gain advantage from

Other Uses (with this meaning)

The town would like to capitalize on the low-cost electricity provided by the dam.

capitalize on = gain advantage

Albus asked his parents immediately, capitalizing on the momentary absence of his brother.
J.K. Rowling -- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Gladstone explained to me how the Hegemony planned to capitalize on that obsession.
Dan Simmons -- Hyperion
On a personal level, my relations with Chief Buthelezi were close and respectful, and I hoped to capitalize on that.
Nelson Mandela -- Long Walk to Freedom
You were serving papers and well do I remember how I exhorted you to put forth your best efforts to capitalize on the big news.
Russell Baker -- Growing Up
Were they trying to get my head bashed in a picket line so that they could capitalize on the publicity?
Richard Wright -- Black Boy
Rene was "angling" to capitalize on his fame, my father fulfilled his singular dream of buying a funeral home, and Ira Hayes was found dead—dead drunk.
James Bradley -- Flags of Our Fathers
Then he capitalized on the midday sun to maximize recharging.
Andy Weir -- The Martian
These were the signs he was waiting for, the lapses he could capitalize on to violently alter the circumstances.
Robert Ludlum -- The Bourne Supremacy

Dictionary / pronunciation — Google^®Dictionary / more samples — Oxford^® US Dictionary list — Onelook.com^®

More commonly:

Outside of the business world, capitalize more commonly refers to changing a letter from lower case to upper case as when "b" is changed to "B".

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