English

Alternative forms

• commoditise

Verb

commoditize ‎(third-person singular simple present commoditizes, present participle commoditizing, simple past and past participle commoditized)

1. (US, business, proscribed) To transform into a commodity, particularly of an existing product.

Usage notes

The earlier commodify is more common, sometimes used synonymously, and sometimes considered more correct, with commoditize proscribed.^[1] In other use these are distinguished, with commoditize used in business contexts to mean when the market for products that used to be distinguishable becomes a commodity market, where products are interchangeable and there is heavy price competition, while commodify is used in social contexts to mean that a non-commercial good has become commercial, typically with connotations of “corrupted by commerce” – “Microprocessors are commoditized. Love is commodified.”^[2][3]

Synonyms

• commodify

Derived terms

• commoditization/commoditisation

References

1. ↑ Robert Hartwell Fiske’s Dictionary of Unendurable English: A Compendium of Mistakes in Grammar, Usage, and Spelling with commentary on lexicographers and linguists, Robert Hartwell Fiske, p. 99
2. ↑ Surowiecki, James (1998-01-30), “The Commoditization Conundrum”, in (Please provide the title of the work), Slate, retrieved 2015-08-16 What corporations fear is the phenomenon now known, rather inelegantly, as “commoditization.” What the term means is simply the conversion of the market for a given product into a commodity market, which is characterized by declining prices and profit margins, increasing competition, and lowered barriers to entry. (“Commoditization” is therefore different from “commodification,” the word cultural critics use to decry the corruption of higher goods by commercial values. Microprocessors are commoditized. Love is commodified.)
3. ↑ Rushkoff, Douglas (2005-09-04), “Commodified vs. Commoditized”, in (Please provide the title of the work), retrieved 2008-07-21