What does privatizing mean?
Privatizing means transferring an asset, service, or organization from public ownership or management into private hands. It is especially common in discussions of government policy, economics, utilities, transport systems, education, and healthcare. A privatization may involve selling a publicly owned business to private investors, introducing private operators into a public service, or otherwise changing the legal and financial basis of an institution. The word is often neutral when describing a policy, but it may also imply controversy because privatization can shift control, accountability, pricing, and access away from government institutions. It is the present participle of “privatize,” and it can appear before a noun, as in “privatizing utilities,” or after the linking verb “be,” as in “The system is being privatized.” The North American spelling is “privatize,” while British English generally uses “privatise.”
verbTo transfer a public asset, service, or organization into private ownership or control. More broadly, it means to make something privately owned or operated.
- To transfer ownership or control of a public asset, service, or organization into private hands.
- To make an activity, institution, or resource privately owned or managed.
"The government decided to privatize the regional water company rather than continue operating it as a public utility."
"The proposal would privatize the railway and allow private companies to set fares."
"The nonprofit was privatized after its funding model changed."
Privatizing sounds administrative, but its central question is political: who should control a public service?
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does privatizing come from?
“Privatizing” is derived from “private,” which came through Old French from Latin privatus, meaning “belonging to an individual” or “not public.” Latin privatus is related to privus, meaning “one’s own,” and gave rise to words including “privacy,” “privilege,” and “privy.” The verb “privatize” developed in the modern economic and political context of transferring public enterprises into private ownership.
Related word forms
How privatizing is actually used
The spelling is standard in North American English, while British English normally uses “privatising.” The term is common in economics, politics, and public policy, where it can carry neutral administrative associations as well as controversial implications about public control and accountability.
Easily confused with privatizing
Privatizing transfers an asset or organization into private ownership, whereas nationalizing returns it to public ownership or control.