in private

Idioms  

1. Not in public; secretly, confidentially. For example, The hearings will be conducted in private, or May I speak to you in private? [Late 1500s] For an antonym, see in public.

---

Example Sentences

In London, the Treasury collected billions in taxes on North Sea producers but largely left investment, development and ownership in private hands, especially after Margaret Thatcher became prime minister in 1979.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026

But, as Greg Obershain and Daniel Rasmussen of Boston asset management firm Verdad point out, whatever struggles private-capital investors will have are likely to be dwarfed by those investing in private equity.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026

“A major macroeconomic shock, confidence in private credit goes, AI and other risky valuations readjust—what happens in that environment and are we prepared for it?”

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

“It’s worthwhile to separate fact from fiction,” Blackstone Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman said about the perceived risk in private credit on a conference call Thursday with analysts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

For decades, black elites engaged in private rescue efforts to make black communities tidy, clean, and respectable in a futile effort to gain white approval.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

• covert
• enigmatic
• reticent
• taciturn