privatization

American  

[prahy-vuh-tuh-zay-shuhn] / ˈpraɪ və təˈzeɪ ʃən /

noun

privatizations plural

1. the process or practice of selling something owned by the government, typically a public service such as a railway or energy network, to a private company.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• privatizations
  plural

Explanation

When something is owned by the government — like a healthcare system, for example — and its ownership becomes privately held, it's called privatization. If your governor had a plan to replace all the public schools in the state with private schools, you could describe it as privatization. People tend to have strong opinions about privatization, believing either that free enterprise and private companies increase efficiency, or that certain services are harmed by privatization, particularly education, healthcare, and law enforcement. At the heart of privatization is the word private, rooted in the Latin privatus, "belonging to the self rather than the state."

Example Sentences

Perhaps nothing highlights the promise and peril of privatization more than education, where Sweden’s embrace of the market goes even further than the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026

The McCoys settled in Imperial Beach in the early 1970s — Mike was a veterinarian, Patricia a teacher — when the coastal protection movement was spreading across the state amid fears of overdevelopment and privatization.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2026

That would avoid the market disruption of full privatization, they said.

From Barron's • Oct. 14, 2025

That would avoid the market disruption of full privatization, they said.

From Barron's • Oct. 14, 2025

This possible growth depends on a number of factors we cannot control, including crime rates and sentencing patterns in various jurisdictions and acceptance of privatization.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander