private

pri-vate · adjective

imported

Definitions

adjective

  1. 1.

    Belonging to or for the use of one particular person or group; not shared.

  2. 2.

    Not open to or controlled by the public; not governmental.

  3. 3.

    Not to be disclosed to others; confidential.

  4. 4.

    Quiet and free from public attention.

  5. 5.

    Not holding public office.

  6. 6.

    A soldier of the lowest rank.

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    in private — Secretly; with no one else present.
  • •
    private eye — A private detective (informal).
  • •
    private sector — The part of the economy not under government control.
  • •
    private parts — Euphemism for genitals.
  • •
    go private — (Of a public company) become privately owned.

Related words

Antonyms: common, open, public, shared
See also: confidential, personal, public, secret
Synonyms: confidential, individual, personal, secret

Etymology

From Latin privatus ("withdrawn from public life, peculiar to oneself"), past participle of privare ("to bereave, deprive"), from privus ("single, individual").