Privatization is the act itself: a government sells, or hands over, something it owns or runs — a company, a railway, a power plant, sometimes water, post, or even a hospital service — so that private people or firms own it and try to make money from it. You meet this word in the news and in politics, not when you mean 'keep this secret' or 'this is my private room'; that everyday 'private' is a neighbour, not the same idea. The tone is formal. People argue over it a lot. Some say privatization makes a service cheaper and sharper, because the new owners must compete. Others say it makes a few people rich and can leave ordinary families paying more for trains, water, or electricity. Though actually, speakers stretch it. 'The privatization of health care' may mean a slow slide toward private payment, not one big sale on one day. The opposite move — the state taking something back — is nationalization.