privatize
/ˈpɹaɪvətaɪz/
"privatize" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“privatize” is an uncommon English word, ranked #50,165 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #50,165
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To release government control (of a business or industry) to private industry.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | privatize |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈpɹaɪvətaɪz/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #50,165 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “privatize” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for privatize is 9 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɹaɪvətaɪz/. Corpus data places it at rank #50,165 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for privatize, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From private + -ize. The correct English form is privatize, spelled P-R-I-V-A-T-I-Z-E.
Definition
- 1To release government control (of a business or industry) to private industry.
- 2To render (a variable, etc.) private in scope.
- 3To render a thought or an idea, private in scope.
Etymology
From private + -ize.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “privatize”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-I-V-A-T-I-Z-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɹaɪvətaɪz/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.