private
belonging to some particular person: private property.
pertaining to or affecting a particular person or a small group of persons; individual; personal: for your private satisfaction.
confined to or intended only for the persons immediately concerned; confidential: a private meeting.
personal and not publicly expressed: one's private feelings.
not holding public office or employment: private citizens.
not of an official or public character; unrelated to one's official job or position: a former senator who has returned to private life;a college president speaking in his private capacity as a legal expert.
removed from or out of public view or knowledge; secret: private papers.
not open or accessible to the general public: a private beach.
undertaken individually or personally: private research.
without the presence of others; alone: Let's go into another room where we can be private.
preferring privacy; retiring: a very private person.
intimate; most personal: private behavior.
of, having, or receiving special hospital facilities, privileges, and services, especially a room of one's own and liberal visiting hours: a private room;a private patient.
of lowest military rank.
of, relating to, or coming from nongovernmental sources: private funding.
a soldier of one of the three lowest enlisted ranks.
privates. private parts.
Idioms about private
in private, not publicly; secretly: The hearing will be conducted in private.
Origin of private
1Other words for private
2 | singular, particular, peculiar |
10 | sequestered, retired |
Opposites for private
Other words from private
- pri·vate·ly, adverb
- pri·vate·ness, noun
- quasi-private, adjective
- qua·si-pri·vate·ly, adverb
- un·pri·vate, adjective
- un·pri·vate·ly, adverb
- un·pri·vate·ness, noun
Words Nearby private
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use private in a sentence
Government and private actors could improve their vaccine rollouts to get more shots in arms faster.
The private club that’s reportedly flying wealthy Brits to Dubai for their jabs.
I grew up feeling very private and embarrassed about human sexuality and bodies, and I don’t want my children to feel like that.
A feminine wash for teens? Angry parents and gynecologists are on a social media crusade. | Abigail Higgins | February 12, 2021 | Washington PostThis is perhaps one case where the much-criticized use of private prisons has an advantage over those run by government.
U.S. Marshals Service’s lax covid-19 oversight of some inmates reflects a larger problem | Joe Davidson | February 12, 2021 | Washington PostSoon, the group was back under fire again, though, for posting the private conversations between Horn and Becker.
Lincoln Project tweeted a co-founder’s private messages after leaders promised to probe sexual harassment claims | Andrea Salcedo | February 12, 2021 | Washington Post
ROME — What does it take for a Hollywood A-lister to get a private audience with Pope Francis?
Pope Francis Has the Pleasure of Meeting Angelina Jolie for a Few Seconds | Barbie Latza Nadeau | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe family was taking some private moments for a closing of the coffin in keeping with Chinese ritual.
But while his public profile receded, his private life blossomed.
Ed Brooke: The Senate's Civil Rights Pioneer and Prophet of a Post-Racial America | John Avlon | January 4, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTMy nickname was Captain, though I was a private, first class.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe role of private investigators has stirred controversy in the investigation.
U.S. Spies Say They Tracked ‘Sony Hackers’ For Years | Shane Harris | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTDean Swift was indeed a misanthrope by theory, however he may have made exception to private life.
Gulliver's Travels | Jonathan SwiftBut if what I told him were true, he was still at a loss how a kingdom could run out of its estate like a private person.
Gulliver's Travels | Jonathan SwiftThe private chapel, built out from the house on the side next Calne, had not been used for years and years.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodProof was given to him, of Elizabeth having admitted Ripperda to private political discussions in the Altheim apartments.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterThe two enjoyed a mutual understanding from which he was excluded, a private intimacy that was spiritual, mental,— physical.
The Wave | Algernon Blackwood
British Dictionary definitions for private
/ (ˈpraɪvɪt) /
not widely or publicly known: they had private reasons for the decision
confidential; secret: a private conversation
not for general or public use: a private bathroom
(prenominal) individual; special: my own private recipe
(prenominal) having no public office, rank, etc: a private man
(prenominal) denoting a soldier of the lowest military rank: a private soldier
of, relating to, or provided by a private individual or organization, rather than by the state or a public body: the private sector; private housing
(of a place) retired; sequestered; not overlooked
(of a person) reserved; uncommunicative
in private in secret; confidentially
a soldier of the lowest rank, sometimes separated into qualification grades, in many armies and marine corps: private first class
Origin of private
1Derived forms of private
- privately, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with private
In addition to the idiom beginning with private
- private eye
also see:
- free (private) enterprise
- in private
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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