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

As a widow, you do qualify for benefits that unmarried individuals are not privy to, such as a step-up in payment amount if your deceased spouse’s benefit was higher than yours.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026

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

From Salon ● May 25, 2026

Much of the talk centered around events to which I was not privy, and even Charles’s kind parenthetical remarks of explanation did not help much to clarify it.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

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

In 2011, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation issued a “Reinvent the Toilet Challenge” asking the world’s brightest minds to redesign our privies to recover valuable resources from the waste.

From Slate ● Nov. 18, 2021

While some neighborhoods were wealthy and spacious, others were poor and cramped, their narrow alleys made narrower still by wells and shared privies.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 23, 2020

Besides how she felt about Miss Love, there was how she felt about kerosene lamps, well water, and 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