colonize /ˈkɒləˌnaɪz/ CET6 TEM8 ( colonizing, colonized, colonizes )

BRIT also colonise

• 1. 

  V-T If people colonize a foreign country, they go to live there and take control of it. 把…变为殖民地

  例：

  The first British attempt to colonize Ireland was in the twelfth century.

  英国第一次企图把爱尔兰变成殖民地是在12世纪。

  例：

  Liberia was never colonized by the European powers.

  利比里亚从未沦为欧洲列强的殖民地。

• 2. 

  V-T When large numbers of animals colonize a place, they go to live there and make it their home. (动物) 移居于

  例：

  Toads are colonizing the whole place.

  蟾蜍正移居到这整个地区。

• 3. 

  V-T When an area is colonized by a type of plant, the plant grows there in large amounts. (植物) 在…大量繁殖 [usu passive]

  例：

  The area was then colonized by scrub.

  那时该地区被大量低矮灌木所覆盖。