Private definition

prīvĭt

Words form:

privates

See word origin

Frequency:

For an individual person.

A private room in a hospital.

adjective

Of, belonging to, or concerning a particular person or group; not common or general.

Private property, a private joke.

adjective

Tending to keep one's personal matters to oneself.

A private person.

adjective

Not holding public office.

A private citizen.

adjective

Not available for public use, control, or participation.

A private club; a private party.

adjective

Not traded by the public.

Private corporation.

adjective

The definition of private is something that belongs to or is used by only a limited few, or information available only to a limited number of people and not publicly shared.

An example of something that would be described as private is a road that is only for residents of a neighborhood.

An example of information that would be described as private is your salary or your PIN number.

An example of something that would be described as private is a company owned only by a few people and not publicly traded on the stock market.

adjective

Not open to, intended for, or controlled by the public.

A private school.

adjective

Away from public view; secluded.

A private dining room.

adjective

Not publicly or generally known; confidential.

A private matter.

adjective

(informal) The genitals.

noun

Not in governmental office or employment.

He quit public life, living quietly as a private citizen.

adjective

(in plural privates) A euphemistic term for the genitals.

noun

Enrolled in or attending a private school.

A private student.

adjective

Carried out on an individual basis.

Private medical practice.

adjective

Engaged in work independent of institutions, organizations, agencies, etc.

Private detective, private tutor.

adjective

An enlisted person of either of the two lowest ranks in the U.S. Army or of the lowest rank in the U.S. Marine Corps.

noun

Belonging to, concerning, or accessible only to an individual person or a specific group.

Her address is private; you can't have it.

adjective

Not publicly known; not open; secret.

The identity of the beneficiaries of the trust is private.

adjective

Protected from view or disturbance by others; secluded.

Can we go somewhere more private?

adjective

Intended only for the use of an individual, group, or organization.

Private papers.

adjective

Not accessible by the public.

Private property.

adjective

Secretive; reserved.

He is a very private person.

adjective

(US, of a room in a medical facility) Not shared with another patient.

adjective

The lowest rank of the army.

noun

A soldier of the rank of private.

noun

Capitalized in shares of stock that are held by a relatively small number of owners and are not traded on the open market.

A private company; a company that went private; took a company private.

adjective

Not holding an official or public position.

A private citizen.

adjective

Secluded from the sight, presence, or intrusion of others.

A private hideaway.

adjective

Designed or intended for one's exclusive use.

A private room.

adjective

Of or confined to the individual; personal.

A private joke; private opinions.

adjective

Undertaken on an individual basis.

Private studies; private research.

adjective

Of, relating to, or receiving special hospital services and privileges.

A private patient.

adjective

Belonging to a particular person or persons, as opposed to the public or the government.

Private property.

adjective

Of, relating to, or derived from nongovernment sources.

Private funding.

adjective

Conducted and supported primarily by individuals or groups not affiliated with governmental agencies or corporations.

A private college; a private sanatorium.

adjective

Not for public knowledge or disclosure; secret.

Private papers; a private communication.

adjective

Not appropriate for use or display in public; intimate.

Private behavior; a private tragedy.

adjective

Placing a high value on personal privacy.

A private person.

adjective

Private parts. Often used with the.

noun

A noncommissioned rank in the US Army or Marine Corps that is below private first class.

noun

One who holds this rank or a similar rank in a military organization.

noun

go private

To take a publicly owned company into private ownership, as by a leveraged buyout.

idiom

in private

Not in public; secretly or confidentially.

idiom

go private

to restore private ownership of a corporation by buying back publicly held stock

idiom

in private

privately or secretly; not publicly

idiom

Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:

private

Plural:

privates

Adjective

Base Form:

private

Comparative:

privater

Superlative:

privatest

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

go private

in private

go private

in private

Origin of private

Middle English privat from Latin prīvātus not in public life past participle of prīvāre to release, deprive from prīvus single, alone per¹ in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From Latin prÄ«vātus (“bereaved; set apart from"), perfect passive participle of prÄ«vō (“I bereave, deprive"), from prÄ«vus (“single, peculiar").

From Wiktionary

Private definition

Other Word Forms

Noun

Adjective

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

Origin of private

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

From Wiktionary

Private Sentence Examples

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