private
Americanadjective
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- peculiar, particular, singular
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- retired
-
He wants to meet us in a more private place.
-
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.
noun
-
a soldier of one of the three lowest enlisted ranks.
-
privates. private parts.
idioms
adjective
-
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 secret; confidentially
noun
Other Word Forms
- privately adverb
- privateness noun
- quasi-private adjective
- quasi-privately adverb
- unprivate adjective
- unprivately adverb
- unprivateness noun
Etymology
Origin of private
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin prīvātus “private,” literally, “taken away (from public affairs),” special use of past participle of prīvāre “to rob”; deprive, -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Get serious about a national AI retraining program: This effort should leverage the private sector and the nation’s community-college system to offer hands-on courses across a broad range of fields and sectors.
From MarketWatch
“This is more than a home … it’s a private sanctuary, brought back to life with care, style, and enduring character. A rare opportunity for those seeking space, seclusion, and authentic Spanish charm.”
From MarketWatch
Among Labour MPs, while there is unease, some now public, some private, there doesn't appear at this stage to be an overwhelming cacophony of noisy opposition to Downing Street's position.
From BBC
Some people who perform at the highest levels carry a private fear that clashes with their outward success.
From Science Daily
A nearby high-end shopping center is still standing after a billionaire developer hired private firefighters.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
