send settlers to (a place) and establish political control over it:the Greeks colonized Sicily and southern Italy
settle among and establish control over (the indigenous people of an area):they sought to discredit the peoples they were colonizing (as plural noun the colonized)an organization seeking to protect the rights of the newly colonized
appropriate (a place or domain) for one’s own use:a small town in a part of the Hudson Valley fast being colonized by weekenders
Ecology (of a plant or animal) establish itself in (an area):mussels can colonize even the most inhospitable rock surfaces
