privatize

[prahy-vuh-tahyz]

verb (used with object), pri·va·tized, pri·va·tiz·ing.

to transfer from public or government control or ownership to private enterprise: a campaign promise to privatize some of the public lands.
to make exclusive; delimit or appropriate: special-interest groups attempting to privatize social issues.

Also especially British, pri·va·tise.

Origin of privatize

First recorded in 1945–50; private + -ize

Related formspri·va·ti·za·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for privatize

Contemporary Examples of privatize

This runs in stark contrast to the temptation to privatize every resource and turn it into a profitable market.
12 Ways Catholicism is More Radical Than Pope Francis
Nathan Schneider
February 9, 2014
“Privatize” rabbinic courts: “denude” them of legal powers and government budgets.
A Divorce Made in Heaven: Don’t Reform Israel’s State Rabbinate. Shut It Down.
Gershom Gorenberg
December 3, 2013
All you have to do is sign the Ryan budget into law and privatize Medicare.
Don’t Repeal Any Laws, Repeal John Boehner
Michael Tomasky
July 24, 2013
Forget about the Second Amendment—the gun lobby, abetted by timorous Republicans, is trying to privatize law and order.
Pro-Gun Absolutism: The Gun Lobby’s Push to Privatize Law and Order
Will Marshall
April 9, 2013
George W. Bush claimed a mandate after 2004, and then promptly saw Democrats decimate his proposal to privatize Social Security.
Tea-Fueled Republican Resistance Compels Barack Obama To Keep Running
Robert Shrum
March 16, 2013

British Dictionary definitions for privatize

privatize

privatise

verb

(tr) to transfer (the production of goods or services) from the public sector of an economy into private ownership and operation

Derived Formsprivatization or privatisation, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for privatize

1968, from private (adj.) + -ize. Related: Privatized; privatizing.