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
Some congressional critics allege the president is plotting to privatize Social Security.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
Our military should not be privatized.
—Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Carter Taylor of Kansas City, an elementary school educator and legislative chair for the Kansas City Federation of Teachers, said efforts to privatize education should scare parents.
—Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2025
If the past offers any guide, however, Havana will instead continue to rely on its formidable security apparatus to repress is citizens, while privatizing in ways that do not threaten the power and privileges of the elite.
—Joseph J. Gonzalez, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for privatize
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Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
Our military should not be privatized.
—Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Carter Taylor of Kansas City, an elementary school educator and legislative chair for the Kansas City Federation of Teachers, said efforts to privatize education should scare parents.
—Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2025
If the past offers any guide, however, Havana will instead continue to rely on its formidable security apparatus to repress is citizens, while privatizing in ways that do not threaten the power and privileges of the elite.
—Joseph J. Gonzalez, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 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 29 Oct. 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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