nationalization

/næʃɪnəlɪˈzeɪʃɪn/

/næʃɪnəlɪˈzeɪʃɪn/

Other forms: nationalizations

Nationalization is when something that's been privately owned switches to being controlled by the government. In the United States, airport security went through nationalization in 2001, becoming a government agency.

Nationalization is often viewed negatively in countries with capitalist economic systems, seen by some as a slide toward socialism or communism, in which nationalization partly serves to redistribute money among all citizens. At various times in the US, nationalization has occurred in areas like the railway system, utility companies, and banks. The Latin root word is nationem, "birth, origin, breed, or tribe," and the original meaning of nationalization was "the act of investing with a national character."

Definitions of nationalization

1. noun

   changing something from private to state ownership or control
   synonyms: communisation, communization, nationalisation

   antonyms:

   denationalization

   changing something from state to private ownership or control

   type of:

   social control

   control exerted (actively or passively) by group action
2. noun

   the action of forming or becoming a nation
   synonyms: nationalisation

   type of:

   group action

   action taken by a group of people
3. noun

   the action of rendering national in character
   synonyms: nationalisation

   type of:

   change

   the action of changing something