private sector

American  

noun

1. the area of the nation's economy under private rather than governmental control.

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private sector British  

noun

1. the part of a country's economy that consists of privately owned enterprises Compare public sector

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private sector Cultural  

1. That part of an economy in which goods and services are produced by individuals and companies as opposed to the government, which controls the public sector.

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Etymology

Origin of private sector

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

private sector

But in recent years, the bank also has marshaled capital investments from the private sector at an unprecedented clip, according to new data it published Thursday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

By August of last year, Dans found another opportunity in the private sector.

From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026

"A ban is more self-enforcing because you have involved the private sector and it becomes commercially unviable for them to deal in settlement goods," Stober says.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

I worked in the private sector and at a university for most of my career, so I paid a significant amount into Social Security.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

Thinking he could fare better in the private sector, he eventually quit the force to go into business with friends.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung