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
Skyway tolls have increased by well over 200% since the road was privatized 21 years ago, around three and a half times the rate of inflation in that time.
—Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 2 Jan. 2026
There’s talk of privatizing the college, in part because the spending is unsustainable.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 2 Jan. 2026
Diaz has deep connections to the charter school industry, and was at the forefront of privatizing the entire school district in Jefferson County in North Florida, an experiment that ended in scandal and failure.
—Daniel Rivero, Miami Herald, 16 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for privatize
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Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 2 Jan. 2026
There’s talk of privatizing the college, in part because the spending is unsustainable.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 2 Jan. 2026
Diaz has deep connections to the charter school industry, and was at the forefront of privatizing the entire school district in Jefferson County in North Florida, an experiment that ended in scandal and failure.
—Daniel Rivero, Miami Herald, 16 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for privatize
Cite this Entry
“Privatize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/privatize. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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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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