localize

/ˌloʊkəˈlaɪz/

Other forms: localized; localizing; localizes

To localize is to focus on a small, specific area. The newspaper in your city might localize half of their news coverage, concentrating on just your state.

A doctor or dentist will localize pain treatment in certain cases, like when you get a novocaine shot in your gums before getting a cavity filled. Rather than a general painkiller affecting your whole body, this focuses only on the part of your mouth that's affected. You can also localize by adapting something to a specific location. A rural school might localize its schedule by opening later in the fall to allow students to help on family farms, for example.

Definitions of localize

1. verb

   concentrate on a particular place or spot
   “The infection has localized in the left eye”

   synonyms: focalise, focalize, localise

   type of:

   lie

   be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
2. verb

   locate
   synonyms: localise, place, set

   type of:

   present, represent, stage

   perform (a play), especially on a stage
3. verb

   restrict something to a particular area
   synonyms: localise

   types:

   draw

   cause to localize at one point

   mature, suppurate

   cause to ripen and discharge pus

   type of:

   restrict

   place under restrictions; limit access to
4. verb

   identify the location or place of
   “We localized the source of the infection”

   synonyms: localise, place

   type of:

   locate, situate

   determine or indicate the place, site, or limits of, as if by an instrument or by a survey