26984 words

privatize

3 definitions • 2 examples
1
If a government privatizes an industry, company, or service that it owns and controls, it sells it so that it becomes privately owned and controlled:

Examples:

I bought shares in British Gas when it was privatized.
2
(of an industry, company, or service) to change from being owned by a government to being owned and controlled independently
3
if the government privatizes companies and organizations that it owns, it sells them to private investors:

Examples:

The conglomerate calls itself the world's largest water company and has been a pioneer in the trend toward privatizing government water services.

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