McDonald's-ization

A form of McDonaldization — The process by which institutions in society become standardized and focused on efficiency and predictability.

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Meanings

nounMcDonald's-ization (uncountable)
  1. alternativeuncountableAlternative form of McDonaldization.

    “Nobody wants to see the McDonald’s-ization of cannabis,” Dan Scully, one of the 400 “patient-growers” who supply Oakland’s largest retail medical marijuana dispensary, Harborside Health Center, grumbled after a City Council committee gave the blueprint preliminary approval last week.

    2010 July 19, Lisa Leff, “Calif. pot-growing plan worries small bud tenders”, in The Telegraph, volume 184, number 200, Macon, Ga., page 13A, column 3
    2 more examples

    Fans & Monograms at Westgate Mall got in 48 caps Wednesday and sold them all in 15 minutes, owner Rob Waterman said. Waterman said the frenzy reminded him of the run on the Nutmeg Rose Bowl caps around Christmas 1993. “I draw the analogy of the ‘McDonald’s-ization’ of America,” he said. “People think they can just drive up and get it. But manufacturers couldn’t pre[-]manufacture the cap. The game just happened Sunday.”

    1997 January 30, Jeff Richgels, “Packer caps are hot item: Local stores can’t keep up”, in The Capital Times, volume 159, number 42, Madison, Wis., page 1B, column 2

    Ed Mierzwinski with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group says consumers will pay higher fees and their privacy will be further invaded as merged companies trade each other’s customer lists. “The McDonald’s-ization of financial business hasn’t led to better french fries, it has led to higher prices, less choice, less innovation,” he says.

    1998 April 26, “Mergers carry benefits, risks”, in Johnson City Press, volume 78, number 260, Johnson City, Tenn., page 35, column 3
Cite this entry
APA

McDonald's-ization. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/McDonald's-ization

MLA

“McDonald's-ization.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/McDonald's-ization. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “McDonald's-ization,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/McDonald's-ization.

Source: McDonald's-ization on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.