If a government privatizes an organization, an industry, or a service that it owns or controls, it sells it — or passes control of it — to private owners. You privatize a national airline, a steel works, a phone company; you do not privatize your bicycle or your diary.

If a government privatizes如果政府privatize了 an organization, an industry, or a service一個組織、產業或服務 that it owns or controls那是它擁有或掌控的，it sells it它就是把它賣掉——or passes control of it或把控制權轉出去——to private owners交給民間的人。You privatize你可以privatize a national airline國營航空公司、a steel works鋼鐵廠、a phone company電話公司；you do not privatize但你不會privatize your bicycle or your diary你的腳踏車或你的日記。

The word lives in news, parliament, and business pages. British spelling often uses -ise (privatise); American spelling uses -ize.

The word lives in這個字常出現在 news, parliament, and business pages新聞、國會和財經版面裡。British spelling often uses英式拼法常用 -ise (privatise)-ise（privatise）；American spelling uses美式拼法用 -ize-ize。

Though actually, real use is a bit looser than 'sells it.' People also say a school, a prison, or a hospital 'has been privatized' when a private firm runs it under contract, even if the building still belongs to the state. The tidy picture is a sale; the messy picture includes paying a private company to do the state's work.

Though actually不過實際上，real use is a bit looser than 'sells it.'實際用法比「賣掉」還要鬆一點。People also say大家也會說 a school, a prison, or a hospital一間學校、監獄或醫院 'has been privatized'「已經privatize了」，when a private firm runs it under contract只要是民間公司簽約在經營，even if the building still belongs to the state就算建築物還是屬於政府的也一樣。The tidy picture is a sale乾淨俐落的說法是「賣掉」；the messy picture includes但實際複雜的情況還包括 paying a private company to do the state's work付錢請民間公司來做政府該做的事。