privatize

[ prahy-vuh-tahyz ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

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.

privatize

/ ˈpraɪvɪˌtaɪz /

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

First recorded in 1945–50; private + -ize

This runs in stark contrast to the temptation to privatize every resource and turn it into a profitable market.

“Privatize” rabbinic courts: “denude” them of legal powers and government budgets.

All you have to do is sign the Ryan budget into law and privatize Medicare.

Forget about the Second Amendment—the gun lobby, abetted by timorous Republicans, is trying to privatize law and order.

George W. Bush claimed a mandate after 2004, and then promptly saw Democrats decimate his proposal to privatize Social Security.

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