privatize
verb
pri·vat·ize
ˈprī-və-ˌtīz 
privatized; privatizing; privatizes
: 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
Jeff Bailey 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
This week, a 14th House Republican — Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington — signed on to a resolution saying Congress should make sure the Postal Service stays an independent federal agency and not privatized.
—Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 18 July 2025
The cuts follow a decade-long Republican effort to dismantle and privatize many of the duties of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency within the Commerce Department that includes the NWS.
—Brian Slodysko, Chicago Tribune, 7 July 2025
While Trump has remained set on his intention to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through the years, his approach to cryptocurrencies has dramatically changed.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 June 2025
Like all theatres, each of these sites is (or was) a social space—even if Anthology initially featured partitions between and behind seats in order to privatize public viewing.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for privatize
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Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 18 July 2025
The cuts follow a decade-long Republican effort to dismantle and privatize many of the duties of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency within the Commerce Department that includes the NWS.
—Brian Slodysko, Chicago Tribune, 7 July 2025
While Trump has remained set on his intention to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through the years, his approach to cryptocurrencies has dramatically changed.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 June 2025
Like all theatres, each of these sites is (or was) a social space—even if Anthology initially featured partitions between and behind seats in order to privatize public viewing.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for privatize
Cite this Entry
“Privatize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/privatize. Accessed 23 Jul. 2025.
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privatize
transitive verb
pri·va·tize
ˈprī-və-ˌtīz
privatized; privatizing
: to make private
especially
: to change (as a business or industry) from public to private control or ownership
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