patronize has definitions from the field of business
1
[ verb ] (business) assume sponsorship of

Synonyms

sponsor patronise

Used in print

(Jean Mercier, Whatever You Do, Don't Panic....)

She patronized Greenwich_Village artists for awhile , then put some money into a Broadway show which was successful ( terrible , but successful ) .

2
[ verb ] treat condescendingly

Used in print

(Irving Fineman, Woman of Valor: The Life of Henrietta...)

Both these youths , who greatly admired Henrietta , were somewhat younger than she , as were also the neighboring Friedenwald boys , who were then studying medicine ; and bright though they all were , they could not possibly compete for her interest with Papa , whose mind - although he never tried to dazzle or patronize lesser lights with it - naturally eclipsed theirs and made them seem to her even younger than they were .

3
[ verb ] do one's shopping at; do business with; be a customer or client of

Used in print

(The Christian Science Monitor...)

During the summer , Negroes began quietly patronizing previously segregated restaurants and lunch counters in downtown retail establishments .

Related terms

boycott support patron shopper

4
[ verb ] be a regular customer or client of

Examples

"We patronize this store" "Our sponsor kept our art studio going for as long as he could"

Related terms

foster run_on patron patron

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