public sector

noun

1. the area of the nation's affairs under governmental rather than private control.

public sector

noun

1. See private sector
   the part of an economy that consists of state-owned institutions, including nationalized industries and services provided by local authorities Compare private sector

public sector

1. That part of the economy controlled by the government. ( Compare private sector .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of public sector¹

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

In essence, the conventional association of the private sector with short-term, private interests and the public sector with long-term public welfare has begun to turn on its head.

From Time

The site claims 47% of its visitors are male, with the public sector, technology and marketing and communications among the most popular industries.

From Digiday

They can adopt regulations that shape financial markets and clarify the risks of climate change to the private and public sectors.

From Time

In 2010, when I joined Amazon Web Services to start our worldwide public sector business, relatively few people in the world knew what cloud computing was.

From Fortune

By enabling researchers in private and public sectors to pool their scientific and technical expertise, we can make a dent in the next crisis before it balloons, preventing harm and creating prosperity in the process.

From Fortune

Public sector unions create a genuine political conundrum for Democrats.

From The Daily Beast

Public sector unions have also fractured the labor movement itself.

From The Daily Beast

How does it happen that citizens of modest means suffer as public sector unions gain?

From The Daily Beast

And now, the plan is not only to decimate public-sector unions, but all unions—to deplete the money they can spend on politics.

From The Daily Beast

Republicans loathe public sector unions—unless they represent cops or firefighters.

From The Daily Beast

These economies are also likely to sport a largish public sector, most of it service oriented.

From Project Gutenberg