D defs.my
Entry 1 sense Webster, 1913

Colonization

/kälˌ-ən-ĭz-āsh'-ən/ · Col·o·ni·za·tion · IPA /kˌɑlənɪzˈeɪʃən/
01 n. The act of colonizing, or the state of being colonized; the formation of a colony or colonies.
  1. 1.
    The act of colonizing, or the state of being colonized; the formation of a colony or colonies.
    “The wide continent of America invited colonization.” Bancroft.