privy

American  

[priv-ee] / ˈprɪv i /

adjective

privier, priviest

1. 

   participating in the knowledge of something private or secret (usually followed byto ).

   Many persons were privy to the plot.

2. private; assigned to private uses.

3. belonging or pertaining to some particular person, especially with reference to a sovereign.

4. secret, concealed, hidden, or secluded.

5. acting or done in secret.

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noun

• privies
  plural

1. outhouse.

2. Law. a person participating directly in or having a derivative interest in a legal transaction.

privy British  

/ ˈprɪvɪ /

adjective

1. participating in the knowledge of something secret

2. archaic secret, hidden, etc

3. archaic of or relating to one person only

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noun

1. a lavatory, esp an outside one

2. law a person in privity with another See privity

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• privies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of privy

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English prive, from Old French: “private” (adjective), “close friend, private place” (noun), from Latin prīvātus private

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Explanation

If you're privy to something, you've been let in on a secret or know about something that most people don't. Not many people are privy to what those top secret documents are all about, for example. The adjective privy comes from the Latin privatus, meaning “private,” and describes someone who has knowledge of secret or confidential information. But watch out: If you use privy as a noun, it can mean “outhouse” or “toilet,” which actually might be a good place to hide your diary if you don't want anyone else to be privy to its contents.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

privy privies privier

Powell says he understands the pressures of modern day policing and assumes something is happening behind the scenes they may not be privy to.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

I am not now privy to the thinking of Yale administrators and trustees.

From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026

“The market has to assume he has information that the public is not privy to,” said Jim Ritterbusch, who runs his own oil advisory trading firm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026

As a widow, you do qualify for benefits that unmarried individuals are not privy to, such as a step-up in payment amount if your deceased spouse’s benefit was higher than yours.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026

I was barely privy to Miig’s council with Chi-Boy and even Minerva, though that would have been harder to access, seeing as how they counseled in the language.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

Three indoor privies were lighted by skylights and ingeniously ventilated by a 150-foot-long lateral tunnel that drew in air and discharged it through adjoining chimneys, providing a continuous draft.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

I never followed up to learn whether it was in time to restock the park privies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2023

Some of the nobles who lived in the palace or its grounds would use the hallways to relieve themselves instead of the privies because the latter were so inadequate and far from their rooms.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020

The pungent aroma of low tide and warm privies hung in the humid air.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 10, 2018

They were intermittently abundant in the sprawling camp, which used few pesticides, relied on human waste as fertilizer, and supplied no water for cleaning privies or taking baths.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

An thou wilt have it so, be it in my house, for there it will be privier both for me and for thee.

From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 06 by Sir Richard Francis Burton

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