pri ‧ vat ‧ ize BrE AmE ( also privatise British English ) /ˈpraɪvətaɪz/ verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ privacy , ↑ private , ↑ privatization ; verb : ↑ privatize ; adverb : ↑ privately ; adjective : ↑ private ]
if a government privatizes an organization, industry, or service that it owns or controls, it sells it ⇨ nationalize