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
Under the new structure, David Ellison became CEO and control was largely privatized via equity and financing from Larry Ellison and others.
—Daniel Orton, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
The space agency currently operates 10 such research centers across the country, and some NASA missions involve contributions from several; the Project Athena document reportedly suggested privatizing some of that work, as well as consolidating some agency initiatives into single space centers.
—Dan Vergano, Scientific American, 3 Dec. 2025
Throughout his political career, Pearce has worked to privatize and undermine our public lands.
—Aaron Weiss, Denver Post, 1 Dec. 2025
All of that was privatized in the 80s and 90s.
—Fortune Editors, Fortune, 12 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for privatize
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Daniel Orton, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
The space agency currently operates 10 such research centers across the country, and some NASA missions involve contributions from several; the Project Athena document reportedly suggested privatizing some of that work, as well as consolidating some agency initiatives into single space centers.
—Dan Vergano, Scientific American, 3 Dec. 2025
Throughout his political career, Pearce has worked to privatize and undermine our public lands.
—Aaron Weiss, Denver Post, 1 Dec. 2025
All of that was privatized in the 80s and 90s.
—Fortune Editors, Fortune, 12 Nov. 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 19 Dec. 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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