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 is of importance since upon collapse, property was privatized.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024
Despite Armenia’s more than 6,000-year history of winemaking, many vineyards were privatized after the collapse of the Soviet Union because people needed wheat and vegetables to survive.
—Vogue, 15 Aug. 2024
Eliminating or privatizing climate information won’t eliminate the effects of climate change.
—Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 16 July 2024
For those retirees who worked for the NYC government and oppose the Medicare Advantage plan the city is trying to push: A conservative administration under Trump will do the same, but to everyone — replace Medicare with Medicare Advantage and privatize Social Security.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 6 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for privatize 
John Tamny, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024
Despite Armenia’s more than 6,000-year history of winemaking, many vineyards were privatized after the collapse of the Soviet Union because people needed wheat and vegetables to survive.
—Vogue, 15 Aug. 2024
Eliminating or privatizing climate information won’t eliminate the effects of climate change.
—Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 16 July 2024
For those retirees who worked for the NYC government and oppose the Medicare Advantage plan the city is trying to push: A conservative administration under Trump will do the same, but to everyone — replace Medicare with Medicare Advantage and privatize Social Security.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 6 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for privatize
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'privatize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near privatize
Cite this Entry
“Privatize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/privatize. Accessed 15 Sep. 2024.
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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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