noun
privatization
preye-vih-teye-ZAYSHN
noun
1
The process of moving a business, service, or industry from government ownership into private hands.
"The privatization of the railway sparked heated debate in parliament."
"Critics argued the privatization of water utilities raised prices for consumers."
How to Use Privatization
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishSelling off or transferring something the government used to run into private ownership.
Common pairings
privatization of
push for privatization
oppose privatization
Word Forms
privatizations plural
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The _____ of the railway sparked heated debate in parliament.
Etymology
Modeled on the German word Privatisierung, and popularized in English by economist Sidney Merlin in the 1940s when discussing post-war German economic policy.