tokenize: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
Medium in technical registers, low in everyday usage.Technical, formal.
Quick answer
What does “tokenize” mean?
To break down text or data into smaller units called tokens, such as words or symbols.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
To break down text or data into smaller units called tokens, such as words or symbols.
In computing and linguistics, to process input by splitting it into tokens for analysis, parsing, or further processing, often in natural language processing or programming contexts.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or usage between British and American English.
Connotations
Neutral in both variants, primarily technical.
Frequency
Equally common in technical contexts such as computer science and linguistics in both regions.
Grammar
How to Use “tokenize” in a Sentence
transitive: tokenize + object (e.g., tokenize the corpus)passive: be tokenized (e.g., the data was tokenized)Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “tokenize” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The algorithm will tokenise the entire corpus for linguistic analysis.
- You must tokenise the input before feeding it to the model.
American English
- The program needs to tokenize the dataset before training.
- We tokenize the text to extract keywords.
adjective
British English
- The tokenised text is stored in a separate file.
- Use the tokenised version for faster processing.
American English
- The tokenized data is ready for the next phase.
- Access the tokenized output from the server.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Rarely used outside tech-related business discussions, e.g., in data analytics projects.
Academic
Common in computer science, linguistics, and data science research papers.
Everyday
Almost never used in casual conversation; limited to technical enthusiasts or professionals.
Technical
Frequently used in programming, natural language processing, machine learning, and software development.
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “tokenize”
- Confusing 'tokenize' with 'parse'—tokenization is a subset of parsing focusing on splitting, while parsing involves grammatical analysis.
- Using 'tokenize' for non-text data without clarification, though it can apply to any sequential data.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Tokenization is the process of splitting text or data into smaller units called tokens, such as words or symbols, often used in computing and linguistics.
It is frequently used in natural language processing, programming, data science, machine learning, and computational linguistics.
Tokenization focuses on breaking input into tokens, while parsing involves analyzing the grammatical structure and relationships between those tokens.
Yes, in British English, it can be spelled 'tokenise', while American English typically uses 'tokenize'; however, both are acceptable and understood in technical contexts.
To break down text or data into smaller units called tokens, such as words or symbols.
Tokenize is usually technical, formal. in register.
Tokenize: in British English it is pronounced /ˈtəʊkənaɪz/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈtoʊkənaɪz/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'token' as a small piece or chip; to tokenize is to turn something into tokens, like breaking a chocolate bar into pieces.
Conceptual Metaphor
Breaking a whole into identifiable, manageable parts for systematic processing, akin to chopping vegetables for cooking.
Practice
Quiz
What is the primary purpose of tokenization in computing?