public enemy

American  

noun

1. a person or thing considered a danger or menace to the public, especially a wanted criminal widely sought by the F.B.I. and local police forces.

2. a nation or government with which one's own is at war.

---

public enemy British  

noun

1. a notorious person, such as a criminal, who is regarded as a menace to the public

---

Etymology

Origin of public enemy

First recorded in 1750–60

Example Sentences

Appeared in the November 21, 2025, print edition as 'The Golfer Who Went From World No. 1 to Public Enemy No. 1'.

From The Wall Street Journal

Years ago, a studio chief famously told a staffer leaving for Netflix that the streamer was “public enemy No. 1.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Along the way, Norman’s role in the saga made him golf’s public enemy No. 1.

From The Wall Street Journal

The former Black Panther leader, who died in 2016, battled drug addiction during the Shakur family’s years in Marin City, Calif. There’s a moment in the book before the aspiring emcee and Public Enemy fan joins Bay Area funk-rap group Digital Underground in 1990, where he is invited fly out to Atlanta to become the chairman of a civil rights youth group, the New Afrikan People’s Organization.

From Los Angeles Times

She remembered her friends in middle school interrupting an afternoon to let her know about a massive gathering in the streets—hordes of people yelling “Fight the power!” as they marched through the heart of Bed-Stuy, filming a music video for the Public Enemy anthem that Do the Right Thing helped make famous.

From The Wall Street Journal