externalizar
verbCEFR B2
What does “externalizar” mean in English?
to outsource
to outsource (externalizar un servicio — contracting work to an external provider; formal alternative to subcontratar)
Example sentences
La empresa tomó la decisión de externalizar el servicio de nóminas para reducir los costes de personal.
The company decided to outsource the payroll service in order to reduce personnel costs.
Cada vez más organizaciones optan por externalizar funciones no esenciales y concentrarse en su actividad principal.
More and more organisations are choosing to outsource non-core functions and focus on their core activity.
Subcontratamos la logística a una empresa especializada que tiene más experiencia en distribución a escala nacional.
We subcontract logistics to a specialist company that has more experience in national-scale distribution.
How to use it
Externalizar means 'to outsource' — to contract work out to an external provider rather than doing it in-house. It is the standard formal equivalent of subcontratar (more colloquial). Pattern: externalizar un servicio / una función / la producción. Externalizar is preferred in formal strategy and management discourse; subcontratar is more common in everyday speech. The noun la externalización (outsourcing) is used in business reports. Register: formal-written; business strategy and HR contexts.
Common mistake
Externalizar vs. subcontratar: externalizar is the more formal, strategic term (the decision to move a function outside the company); subcontratar is more operational (contracting a specific job to a third party). Both are correct at B2. False cognate risk: 'externalise' in British English can mean making something external/visible, not outsourcing — in Spanish, externalizar is specifically about outsourcing.