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

The project brought together government researchers, universities and the private sector.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

Those schemes became expensive for employers to sustain as life expectancy improved, and they all but died out in the private sector in the 2000s.

From BBC • May 17, 2026

His methods ruffled feathers in both the private sector and in Congress.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

"Over the last 24 months, health care has created 81 percent of the private sector jobs -- everything else, 19 percent," he told AFP, calling it a "risky" way to run the economy.

From Barron's • May 8, 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