private

[ prahy-vit ]

adjective

1. belonging to some particular person:

   private property.

2. pertaining to or affecting a particular person or a small group of persons; individual; personal:

   for your private satisfaction.

   Synonyms: peculiar, particular, singular

   Antonyms: public, general

3. confined to or intended only for the persons immediately concerned; confidential:

   a private meeting.

4. personal and not publicly expressed:

   one's private feelings.

5. not holding public office or employment:

   private citizens.

6. not of an official or public character; unrelated to one's official job or position:

   a former senator who has returned to private life;

   a college president speaking in his private capacity as a legal expert.

7. removed from or out of public view or knowledge; secret:

   private papers.

8. not open or accessible to the general public:

   a private beach.

9. undertaken individually or personally:

   private research.

10. without the presence of others; alone:

    Let's go into another room where we can be private.

    Synonyms: retired

11. solitary; secluded:

    He wants to meet us in a more private place.

12. preferring privacy; retiring:

    a very private person.

13. intimate; most personal:

    private behavior.

14. of, having, or receiving special hospital facilities, privileges, and services, especially a room of one's own and liberal visiting hours:

    a private room;

    a private patient.

15. of lowest military rank.
16. of, relating to, or coming from nongovernmental sources:

    private funding.

noun

1. a soldier of one of the three lowest enlisted ranks.
2. privates. private parts.

private

/ ˈpraɪvɪt /

adjective

1. not widely or publicly known

   they had private reasons for the decision

2. confidential; secret

   a private conversation

3. not for general or public use

   a private bathroom

4. prenominal individual; special

   my own private recipe

5. prenominal having no public office, rank, etc

   a private man

6. prenominal denoting a soldier of the lowest military rank

   a private soldier

7. of, relating to, or provided by a private individual or organization, rather than by the state or a public body

   the private sector

   private housing

8. (of a place) retired; sequestered; not overlooked
9. (of a person) reserved; uncommunicative
10. in private
    in secret; confidentially

noun

1. a soldier of the lowest rank, sometimes separated into qualification grades, in many armies and marine corps

   private first class

Derived Forms

• ˈprivately, adverb

Other Words From

• private·ly adverb
• private·ness noun
• quasi-private adjective
• quasi-private·ly adverb
• un·private adjective
• un·private·ly adverb
• un·private·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of private¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin prīvātus “private,” literally, “taken away (from public affairs),” special use of past participle of prīvāre “to rob”; deprive, -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of private¹

C14: from Latin prīvātus belonging to one individual, withdrawn from public life, from prīvāre to deprive, bereave

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in private, not publicly; secretly:

   The hearing will be conducted in private.

More idioms and phrases containing private

In addition to the idiom beginning with private , also see free (private) enterprise ; in private .

Example Sentences

But Streeting’s view became public after he told a large, notionally private, meeting of Labour MPs what he thought.

From BBC

They said he had initially been asked his views in a private meeting of Labour MPs, but once that leaked, he felt it necessary to explain publicly why he had come to his opinion.

From BBC

It was part of the Anglesey family jewellery collection for about 100 years before it was sold to a private Asian collector in the 1960s.

From BBC

During the trial, jurors heard that Chapman drove to Waring's family home in Private Drive, Barnston, after the shooting and left his Mercedes car and a Skorpion sub-machine gun there.

From BBC

The forecasts published on Friday will also form part of the public debate, and private negotiations between universities and ministers considering whether tuition fees should rise further in the future.

From BBC

Related Words

• soldier