Uberize

See also: uberize

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Uber +‎ -ize. From the brand of the company Uber, which disrupted the taxicab industry by creating a business model allowing private drivers to be paid for providing a similar service.

Verb

Uberize (third-person singular simple present Uberizes, present participle Uberizing, simple past and past participle Uberized)

  1. (economics, American and Oxford British spelling) To introduce a platform to an existing market or industry that provides direct transactions between sellers and buyers, often using mobile technology.
    • 2016 January 7, Michael Hiltzik, “Conservatives are still trying to prove there's no retirement crisis – but workers may know better”, in Los Angeles Times[1], Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 8 January 2016:
      Yes, more companies are offering 401(k) plans, but in the Uberized "gig economy" fewer workers may even have an employer to offer them.
    • 2017, Loick Menvielle, The Digitization of Healthcare: New Challenges and Opportunities:
      Participate in any of today's industry conferences or university business courses, and you will likely hear at least one individual who affirms that they have invented, or conceptually designed, a platform that will “uberize” industry X, Y, or Z.
    • 2018 December 14, “New gangs 'Uberise' Europe's cocaine supply and bring more violence”, in The Guardian[2]:
      New gangs ‘Uberise’ Europe's cocaine supply and bring more violence [title]
    • 2021, Antoine Masson, Gavin Robinson, editors, Mapping Legal Innovation: Trends and Perspectives, Springer Nature, →ISBN, page 65:
      To be active in the twenty-first century revolution and avoid being “Uberized”, lawyers must revolutionize their thinking modes and practices to have the capacity to innovate.
    • 2023 April 13, Lauren Hilgers, “When Your Boss Is an App”, in The New York Times Magazine[3], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 April 2023:
      What is less often appreciated, though, is just how much, and how steadily, the structure and technology of gig work have expanded beyond our most obviously “Uberized” jobs.

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