privy

American  

[priv-ee] / ˈprɪv i /

adjective

privier, priviest

1. participating in the knowledge of something private or secret (usually followed byto ).

   Many persons were privy to the plot.

2. private; assigned to private uses.

3. belonging or pertaining to some particular person, especially with reference to a sovereign.

4. secret, concealed, hidden, or secluded.

5. acting or done in secret.

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noun

• privies
  plural

1. outhouse.

2. Law. a person participating directly in or having a derivative interest in a legal transaction.

privy British  

/ ˈprɪvɪ /

adjective

1. participating in the knowledge of something secret

2. archaic secret, hidden, etc

3. archaic of or relating to one person only

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noun

1. a lavatory, esp an outside one

2. law a person in privity with another See privity

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• privies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of privy

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English prive, from Old French: “private” (adjective), “close friend, private place” (noun), from Latin prīvātus private

Explanation

If you're privy to something, you've been let in on a secret or know about something that most people don't. Not many people are privy to what those top secret documents are all about, for example. The adjective privy comes from the Latin privatus, meaning “private,” and describes someone who has knowledge of secret or confidential information. But watch out: If you use privy as a noun, it can mean “outhouse” or “toilet,” which actually might be a good place to hide your diary if you don't want anyone else to be privy to its contents.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

privy privies privier

I am not now privy to the thinking of Yale administrators and trustees.

From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026

The bot is privy to every bathroom trip he takes, every morsel of food he consumes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

They do not pay any rent for this central London accommodation, instead it is paid by the "privy purse", which is the monarch's personal money, to the Royal Household.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

But Sasha is a child, and can only see what she’s privy to.

From Salon ● May 25, 2026

I was not privy to it, but some sort of conversation between adults took place.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Three indoor privies were lighted by skylights and ingeniously ventilated by a 150-foot-long lateral tunnel that drew in air and discharged it through adjoining chimneys, providing a continuous draft.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

I never followed up to learn whether it was in time to restock the park privies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2023

Some of the nobles who lived in the palace or its grounds would use the hallways to relieve themselves instead of the privies because the latter were so inadequate and far from their rooms.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020

St. Clair pointed out primitive campgrounds and privies awaiting visitors.

From Washington Post ● May 22, 2016

Said he didn’t mind going to Egypt, which was what everybody in town called privies.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

An thou wilt have it so, be it in my house, for there it will be privier both for me and for thee.

From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 06 by Sir Richard Francis Burton