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Definition of private - 9 dictionary results

pri⋅vate

  [prahy-vit]
Use private in a Sentence
–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.
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: private life.
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.
11. solitary; secluded.
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, esp. a room of one's own and liberal visiting hours: a private room; a private patient.
15. of lowest military rank.
16. of, pertaining to, or coming from nongovernmental sources: private funding.
–noun
17. a soldier of one of the three lowest enlisted ranks.
18. privates. private parts.
—Idiom
19. in private, not publicly; secretly: The hearing will be conducted in private.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L prīvātus private, lit., taken away (from public affairs), special use of ptp. of prīvāre to rob. See deprive, -ate 1

Related forms:
pri⋅vate⋅ly, adverb
pri⋅vate⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
2. singular, particular, peculiar. 10. sequestered, retired.

Antonyms:
2. general, public.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To private
pri·vate   (prī'vĭt)   
adj.  
    1. Secluded from the sight, presence, or intrusion of others: a private hideaway.
    2. Designed or intended for one's exclusive use: a private room.
    3. Of or confined to the individual; personal: a private joke; private opinions.
    4. Undertaken on an individual basis: private studies; private research.
    5. Of, relating to, or receiving special hospital services and privileges: a private patient.
    6. Belonging to a particular person or persons, as opposed to the public or the government: private property.
    7. Of, relating to, or derived from nongovernment sources: private funding.
    8. Conducted and supported primarily by individuals or groups not affiliated with governmental agencies or corporations: a private college; a private sanatorium.
    9. Enrolled in or attending a private school: a private student.
    10. Not for public knowledge or disclosure; secret: private papers; a private communication.
    11. Not appropriate for use or display in public; intimate: private behavior; a private tragedy.
    12. Placing a high value on personal privacy: a private person.
    1. Of or confined to the individual; personal: a private joke; private opinions.
    2. Undertaken on an individual basis: private studies; private research.
    3. Of, relating to, or receiving special hospital services and privileges: a private patient.
    4. Belonging to a particular person or persons, as opposed to the public or the government: private property.
    5. Of, relating to, or derived from nongovernment sources: private funding.
    6. Conducted and supported primarily by individuals or groups not affiliated with governmental agencies or corporations: a private college; a private sanatorium.
    7. Enrolled in or attending a private school: a private student.
    8. Not for public knowledge or disclosure; secret: private papers; a private communication.
    9. Not appropriate for use or display in public; intimate: private behavior; a private tragedy.
    10. Placing a high value on personal privacy: a private person.
  3. Not available for public use, control, or participation: a private club; a private party.
    1. Belonging to a particular person or persons, as opposed to the public or the government: private property.
    2. Of, relating to, or derived from nongovernment sources: private funding.
    3. Conducted and supported primarily by individuals or groups not affiliated with governmental agencies or corporations: a private college; a private sanatorium.
    4. Enrolled in or attending a private school: a private student.
    5. Not for public knowledge or disclosure; secret: private papers; a private communication.
    6. Not appropriate for use or display in public; intimate: private behavior; a private tragedy.
    7. Placing a high value on personal privacy: a private person.
  5. Not holding an official or public position: a private citizen.
    1. Not for public knowledge or disclosure; secret: private papers; a private communication.
    2. Not appropriate for use or display in public; intimate: private behavior; a private tragedy.
    3. Placing a high value on personal privacy: a private person.
n.  
    1. Abbr. PVT or Pvt or Pvt. A noncommissioned rank in the U.S. Army or Marine Corps that is below private first class.
    2. One who holds this rank or a similar rank in a military organization.
  2. privates Private parts. Often used with the.

[Middle English privat, from Latin prīvātus, not in public life, past participle of prīvāre, to release, deprive, from prīvus, single, alone; see per1 in Indo-European roots.]
pri'vate·ly adv., pri'vate·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Private

Pri"vate\ (?; 48), a. [L. privatus apart from the state, peculiar to an individual, private, properly p. p. of privare to bereave, deprive, originally, to separate, fr. privus single, private, perhaps originally, put forward (hence, alone, single) and akin to prae before. See Prior, a., and cf. Deprive, Privy, a.]

1. Belonging to, or concerning, an individual person, company, or interest; peculiar to one's self; unconnected with others; personal; one's own; not public; not general; separate; as, a man's private opinion; private property; a private purse; private expenses or interests; a private secretary.

2. Sequestered from company or observation; appropriated to an individual; secret; secluded; lonely; solitary; as, a private room or apartment; private prayer.

Reason . . . then retires Into her private cell when nature rests. --Milton.

3. Not invested with, or engaged in, public office or employment; as, a private citizen; private life. --Shak.

A private person may arrest a felon. --Blackstone.

4. Not publicly known; not open; secret; as, a private negotiation; a private understanding.

5. Having secret or private knowledge; privy. [Obs.]

Private act or statute, a statute exclusively for the settlement of private and personal interests, of which courts do not take judicial notice; -- opposed to a general law, which operates on the whole community .

Private nuisance or wrong. See Nuisance.

Private soldier. See Private, n., 5.

Private way, a right of private passage over another man's ground. --Kent.

Private

Pri"vate\, n. 1. A secret message; a personal unofficial communication. [Obs.] --Shak.

2. Personal interest; particular business.[Obs.]

Nor must I be unmindful of my private. --B. Jonson.

3. Privacy; retirement. [Archaic] "Go off; I discard you; let me enjoy my private." --Shak.

4. One not invested with a public office. [Archaic]

What have kings, that privates have not too? --Shak.

5. (Mil.) A common soldier; a soldier below the grade of a noncommissioned officer. --Macaulay.

6. pl. The private parts; the genitals.

In private, secretly; not openly or publicly.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : private
Spanish: privado,
German: privat,
Japanese: 個人の
More Translations »

private  (adj.)
c.1380, from L. privatus "set apart, belonging to oneself" (not to the state), used in contrast to publicus, communis; originally pp. stem of privare "to separate, deprive," from privus "one's own, individual," from Old L. pri "before." Replaced O.E. syndrig. Grew popular 17c. as a preferred alternative to the snobbish overtones in common. Meaning "not open to the public" is from 1398. Of persons, "not holding public office" it is recorded from 1432. Private soldier "one below the rank of a non-commissioned officer" is from 1579. Private parts "the pudenda" is from 1785. Private enterprise first recorded 1844. Privacy is first recorded c.1450. Privatization is attested from 1959; privatize first recorded 1968.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: pri·vate
Function: adjective
1 a : intended for or restricted to the use of a particular person or group or class of persons : not available to the public private park> b : not related to, controlled by, or deriving from the state private school>
2 a : owned by or concerning an individual person or entity <private land> b : not having shares that can be freely traded on the open market private company>
3 : affecting the interests of a particular person, class or group of persons, or locality <private legislation> <private rights>
4 a : not invested with or engaged in public office or employment private citizen> b : not related to or dependent on an official position <private correspondence>
5 : not known publicly or carried on in public; especially : intended only for the persons involved
6 : made under private signature private instrument>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Main Entry: pri·vate
Pronunciation: 'prI-v&t
Function: adjective
1 : of, relating to, or receiving hospital service in which the patienthas more privileges than a semiprivate or ward patient
2 : of, relating to, or being private practice private office> private practitioner>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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private

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

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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private

in most armies, the lowest grade of enlisted personnel. In the armies of the United States, Germany, and France, a private ranks below a private first class, who in turn ranks below a corporal. In the army of the People's Republic of China, private second class ranks below private first class. The grade equivalent to private in other branches of the armed services in the United States varies; in the U.S. Navy it is seaman, in the U.S. Air Force, airman.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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