col‧o‧nize (also colonise British English) /ˈkɒlənaɪz $ ˈkɑː-/ verb [transitive]

1. to establish political control over an area or over another country, and send your citizens there to settle ⇒ colony

2. if animals or plants colonize an area, large numbers of them start to live there:
a dead tree that has been colonized by ants
—colonizer noun [countable]
—colonization /ˌkɒlənaɪˈzeɪʃən $ ˌkɑːlənə-/ noun [uncountable]

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲