na ‧ tion ‧ al ‧ ize BrE AmE ( also nationalise British English ) /ˈnæʃ ə nəlaɪz/ verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ nation , ↑ national , ↑ multinational , ↑ nationalism , ↑ nationalist , ↑ nationality , ↑ nationalization , ↑ nationhood , ↑ international , ↑ internationalism , ↑ internationalist , ↑ internationalization ; adjective : ↑ national , ↑ international , ↑ multinational , ↑ nationalist , ↑ nationalistic , nationalized, ↑ internationalist ; verb : ↑ nationalize , ↑ internationalize ; adverb : ↑ nationally , ↑ internationally ]
if a government nationalizes a very large industry such as water, gas, or the railways, it buys it or takes control of it ⇨ privatize :
The British government nationalized the railways in 1948.
a nationalised industry
—nationalization /ˌnæʃ ə nəlaɪˈzeɪʃ ə n $ -nələ-/ noun [uncountable and countable]