privatize

verb

pri·​vat·​ize ˈprī-və-ˌtīz How to pronounce privatize (audio)
privatized; privatizing; privatizes

transitive verb

: to make private
especially : to change from public to private control or ownership
privatize an industry
The mayor's threat to privatize trash collection shook things up. Jeff Bailey
privatization noun

Examples of privatize in a Sentence

The city decided to privatize the municipal power company. a proposal to privatize the health-care system
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Everett said federal workers are feeling uneasy and nervous, and believes the broader plan by the Trump administration is to privatize a host of government services. Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 6 Feb. 2025 While Baghdad spiralled into out-of-control violence, the G.O.P. ideologues who reported for duty in the desert worked to privatize Iraqi government agencies, revamp the tax code, and launch an anti-smoking campaign. Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2025 Once the Legislature has ensured that all wealthy children are at private schools, all middle-class students and disabled students are at vocational workforce schools, and public education has been effectively privatized and segregated, there will be no going back. Sierra Bush Rester, Orlando Sentinel, 5 Feb. 2025 Anxiety levels among the workforce there are high in part because the influential Project 2025 report calls for the agency's climate work to end, the National Weather Service to privatize and the agency to be broken up overall. Andrew Freedman, Axios, 5 Feb. 2025 See all Example Sentences for privatize 

Word History

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of privatize was in 1948

Dictionary Entries Near privatize

Cite this Entry

“Privatize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/privatize. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.

Legal Definition

privatize

transitive verb
pri·​va·​tize ˈprī-və-ˌtīz How to pronounce privatize (audio)
privatized; privatizing
: to make private
especially : to change (as a business or industry) from public to private control or ownership
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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