privatize

verb

pri·​vat·​ize ˈprī-və-ˌtīz 

privatized; privatizing; privatizes

transitive verb

: 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

privatization

ˌprī-və-tə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

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

The current president of the Hartford Federation of Teachers, Corey Moses, criticized the tax credit as an effort to privatize schooling in America. — Theo Peck-Suzuki, Hartford Courant, 22 Oct. 2026

Former president Jair Bolsonaro — Flávio Bolsonaro’s father — signed a 2020 decree that opened a path toward privatizing parts of it before immediately backing down amid a wave of criticism. — Terrence McCoy, Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2026

Some public school advocates have called the tax credit as a wolf in sheep’s clothing aimed at further privatizing public education. — Austin Horn, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026

France Télévisions film chief Manuel Alduy has warned that the far-right Rassemblement National’s plan to privatize public broadcasting would devastate French cinema, stripping it from one of its biggest financiers. — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for privatize

• advertise
• aggrandize
• alibis
• alkalies
• alkalis
• amortize
• amplifies
• analyse
• analyze
• anywise
• authorize
• butterflies

Legal Definition

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

privatization

ˌprī-və-tə-ˈzā-shən, -ˌtī- 

noun