deregulate

[ dee-reg-yuh-leyt ]

verb (used with object)

, de·reg·u·lat·ed, de·reg·u·lat·ing.

1. to remove government regulatory controls from (an industry, a commodity, etc.):

   to deregulate the trucking industry; to deregulate oil prices.

verb (used without object)

, de·reg·u·lat·ed, de·reg·u·lat·ing.

1. to undergo deregulation:

   Some banks have already started to deregulate.

deregulate

/ diːˈrɛɡjʊˌleɪt /

verb

1. tr to remove regulations or controls from

Derived Forms

• deˈregulator, noun
• deˈregulatory, adjective
• deˌreguˈlation, noun

Other Words From

• de·reg·u·la·tion [dee-reg-y, uh, -, ley, -sh, uh, n], noun
• de·reg·u·la·tor noun
• de·reg·u·la·to·ry [dee-, reg, -y, uh, -l, uh, -tawr-ee], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of deregulate¹

An Americanism dating back to 1960–65; de- + regulate

Example Sentences

With deregulated business and privatized public services and natural resources, the system helped make Chile a haven for foreign investors and one of the richest countries in South America.

From Time

On the deregulated, idiosyncratic Texas power market, REPs generally purchase wholesale electricity from power generators and sell it to customers.

From TechCrunch

This is the gamble at the heart of a deregulated electricity market, in which companies compete to produce and sell electricity, as opposed to a monopoly system with rates fixed by regulators.

From Quartz

Many energy experts say the very nature of the state’s deregulated electric market is perhaps most to blame for last week’s power crisis.

From ProPublica

In 1999, Texas joined more than a dozen other states in “deregulating” its electricity system, meaning that it switched from a monopoly power provider to a marketplace of competing power plants and retail utilities.

From Quartz

This former Goldman Sachs partner has frustrated many progressives by working hard to deregulate Wall Street.

From The Daily Beast

Their Reaganite Republican adversaries, by contrast, want to deregulate it radically.

From The Daily Beast

One, deregulate everything so that banks can start placing bets agaist their own securities.

From The Daily Beast

The former press secretary criticized GOP plans to increase tax cuts for the wealthy and deregulate banks and Wall Street.

From The Daily Beast

Should we fix the ratings agencies by regulating them more stringently, or do we need to deregulate and increase competition?

From The Daily Beast

We seek to fully deregulate natural gas to bring on new supplies and bring us closer to energy independence.

From Project Gutenberg