public interest

noun

1. the welfare or well-being of the general public; commonwealth:

   health programs that directly affect the public interest.

2. appeal or relevance to the general populace:

   a news story of public interest.

Other Words From

• public-interest adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of public interest¹

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

Because the private sector is not bound by the First Amendment, companies actually do have more leeway to act in the public interest.

From ProPublica

So there’s significant public interest in knowing what the role of climate change is in this setting.

From Popular-Science

Barriers that limit how tech companies can acquire, use, and sell data alongside clear public interest obligations would also make misinformation at scale less of a national security threat.

From MIT Technology Review

They cited concerns over the First Amendment, freedom of speech, and public interest as the reasons for a lack of intervention on even the most palpable mistruths, but the events at the Capitol prompted a shift change.

From Search Engine Watch

The limited availability of radio and television spectrum justified government-enforced public interest rules on those who received exclusive licenses to the public airwaves.

From Washington Post

While public interest in Ebola continues to dwindle, the epidemic itself continues to soar.

From The Daily Beast

Few, if any were ever awaited with greater public interest than this one.

From The Daily Beast

The assumptions of the “regulation as public interest” crowd undermine their stated conclusions.

From The Daily Beast

The “Sunday Mirror” says it was in the ‘public interest’ to entrap a Conservative MP in an elaborate sex sting.

From The Daily Beast

The journal and publisher believe that its continued availability may not be in the public interest.

From The Daily Beast

Both in England and America the public interest in Tchaikovsky seemed to be steadily increasing.

From Project Gutenberg

No political question was exciting public interest, and the borough elections were decided rather by money than by measures.

From Project Gutenberg

The question was not at that time exciting much public interest.

From Project Gutenberg

It became evident that the trial would last a long time and public interest in it soon flagged.

From Project Gutenberg

He would have conquered a true leadership and advanced a public interest while upbuilding his party.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• glare
• prominence
• public eye
• spotlight