nationalize

verb

na·​tion·​al·​ize ˈna-sh(ə-)nə-ˌlīz 

nationalized; nationalizing

transitive verb

1

: to give a national character to

2

: to invest control or ownership of in the national government

nationalization

ˌna-sh(ə-)nə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

nationalizer

ˈna-sh(ə-)nə-ˌlī-zər 

noun

Examples of nationalize in a Sentence

The government nationalized the health-care system in the mid-1950s.

nationalizing the country's oil supply

Recent Examples on the Web

The wiring that Amtrak and New Jersey Transit rely on is a bespoke system that was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad nearly a century ago, then run by its successor Penn Central, then handed over to the public after the railroad went broke and was nationalized. —Nolan Hicks, Curbed, 9 July 2024

Such vital infrastructure needs to be nationalized rather than used as a PR football for attention-hungry CEOs. —Katherine Alejandra Cross, WIRED, 20 Oct. 2022

At the end of October, the United Kingdom and France, NATO’s two European pillars, attacked Egypt to regain control of the Suez Canal, which Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser had nationalized a few months earlier. —James Hershberg, Foreign Affairs, 24 Feb. 2022

Social media can nationalize a local news story within minutes. —Arthur L. Kellermann, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1799, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

nationalize

verb

na·​tion·​al·​ize ˈnash-nəl-ˌīz 

-ən-ᵊl-

nationalized; nationalizing

1

: to make national

2

: to remove from private ownership and place under government control

nationalize railroads

nationalization

-ə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

Legal Definition

nationalize

transitive verb

na·​tion·​al·​ize ˈna-shə-nə-ˌlīz 

nationalized; nationalizing

: to invest control or ownership of in the national government