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.
Much like the living room, the couple’s bedroom features its own sliding glass doors that open up to a private terrace overlooking the backyard and swimming pool area.
From MarketWatch
“Non-cash compensation could include a private fund manager offering an investor favorable investment terms, such as co-investment rights, in exchange for investor referrals.”
From MarketWatch
“Markets with many young firms tend to be overvalued, because private firms rush to go public to take advantage of high equity prices,” he writes.
From MarketWatch
Exor said the performance across its unlisted companies was mixed, but that private companies overall had a positive contribution to its portfolio.
Sri Lanka's private bus services ground to a near standstill on Monday after operators went on strike demanding a fare revision to pay for rising fuel costs.
From BBC
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.
