private

American  

[prahy-vit] / ˈpraɪ vɪt /

adjective

1. belonging to some particular person.

   private property.

2. pertaining to or affecting a particular person or a small group of persons; individual; personal.

   for your private satisfaction.

   Synonyms:

   peculiar, particular, singular

   Antonyms:

   public, general

3. confined to or intended only for the persons immediately concerned; confidential.

   a private meeting.

4. personal and not publicly expressed.

   one's private feelings.

5. not holding public office or employment.

   private citizens.

6. 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.

7. removed from or out of public view or knowledge; secret.

   private papers.

8. not open or accessible to the general public.

   a private beach.

9. undertaken individually or personally.

   private research.

10. without the presence of others; alone.

    Let's go into another room where we can be private.

    Synonyms:

    retired

11. solitary; secluded.

    He wants to meet us in a more private place.

12. preferring privacy; retiring.

    a very private person.

13. intimate; most personal.

    private behavior.

14. 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.

15. of lowest military rank.

16. of, relating to, or coming from nongovernmental sources.

    private funding.

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noun

1. a soldier of one of the three lowest enlisted ranks.

2. privates. private parts.

idioms

1. in private, not publicly; secretly.

   The hearing will be conducted in private.

private British  

/ ˈpraɪvɪt /

adjective

1. not widely or publicly known

   they had private reasons for the decision

2. confidential; secret

   a private conversation

3. not for general or public use

   a private bathroom

4. (prenominal) individual; special

   my own private recipe

5. (prenominal) having no public office, rank, etc

   a private man

6. (prenominal) denoting a soldier of the lowest military rank

   a private soldier

7. 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

8. (of a place) retired; sequestered; not overlooked

9. (of a person) reserved; uncommunicative

10. in secret; confidentially

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noun

1. a soldier of the lowest rank, sometimes separated into qualification grades, in many armies and marine corps

   private first class

private More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing private

• free (private) enterprise
• in private

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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

Then he flew aboard their private “Jetty” to Spain for a royal princess’s debutante-style party.

From Los Angeles Times

University endowments grew to lean on the once-juicy returns of private equity to cover a larger slice of their overall budget.

From The Wall Street Journal

Core was already contending with a crop of upstart private clubs crowding its turf as well as a nasty legal fight with its landlord.

From The Wall Street Journal

Little remains of Stanley's letters and diaries "which is really frustrating but adds to the idea that he was a private man," he said.

From BBC

To strengthen its capabilities, Interpol partners with private firms in finance, cybersecurity and cryptocurrency analysis.

From Barron's

Related Words

• confidential
• exclusive
• independent
• individual
• secret
• separate
• special