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

The private sector exists somewhere out there—the source of all that money—but its customs are foreign to the weirdo revolutionaries who populate the world Ms. Barker once made her career in.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Inflation watchers in the private sector said the BEA move was justified, but they faulted the agency for not giving the public a heads up, even for such a nerdy statistical thing.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

However, the ONS noted that regular wage growth in the private sector fell below 3% for the first time since 2020.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Nearly $150 billion more is expected from the private sector.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen 449 points, to its lowest level in four years, and most of the market-moving news was coming not from the private sector but from government officials.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis