private
IPA: prˈaɪvʌt
noun
- A soldier of the lowest rank in the army.
- A doctor working in privately rather than publicly funded health care.
- (euphemistic, in the plural) The genitals.
- (obsolete) A secret message; a personal unofficial communication.
- (obsolete) Personal interest; particular business.
- (obsolete) Privacy; retirement.
- (obsolete) One not invested with a public office.
- (usually in the plural) A private lesson.
- (military) Alternative letter-case form of private [A soldier of the lowest rank in the army.]
verb
- (Internet, transitive) To make something hidden from the public (without deleting it permanently).
adjective
- Belonging or pertaining to an individual person, group of people, or entity that is not the state.
- Relating to an individual or group of individuals outside of their official roles; often, sensitive or personal.
- Not publicly known or divulged; secret, confidential; (of a message) intended only for a specific person or group.
- Protected from view or disturbance by others; secluded; not publicly accessible.
- Not in governmental office or employment.
- Secretive; reserved.
- (finance) Not traded by the public.
- Of a room in a medical facility, not shared with another patient.
- (UK, of schools) Financially reliant on fees rather than government funding.
- (not comparable, object-oriented programming) Accessible only to the class itself or instances of it, and not to other classes or even subclasses.
- (philosophy) Of the mind or language, not in principle experienceable, knowable, or understandable by others.
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Examples of "private" in Sentences
- He's on a privateer now.
- The parlor was smaller and private.
- That they are discreditable is a private judgment.
- It's not as if Obama is a private person unaccustomed to criticism.
- This was considered private and a personal act of penitence toward the gods.
- The congestion tax is deductible for both private individuals and businesses.
- The American quarters are private, approximately person sized soundproof booths.
- There's a real difference between something being private and something being personal.
- II. i.223 (370,7) [My lips are no common, though several they be] _Several_, is an inclosed field of a private proprietor, so Maria says, _her lips_ are _private property_.
- But he may rest assured that I will not betray any of his private communications to me; I will not follow his example by basely exposing a _private letter; _ even should he again hire James
- But, after all, one must earn enough to pay for the garret; and I confess that to grow old as a private tutoror a private anythingis almost as chilling to the imagination as a second secretaryship at Bucharest.
- Instead of _taking_ "private property," Congress, by abolishing slavery, would say "_private property_ shall not be taken; and those who have been robbed of it already, shall be kept out of it no longer; and every man's right to his own body shall be protected."
- Instead of _taking_ "private property," Congress, by abolishing slavery, would say "_private property_ shall not _be_ taken; and those who have been robbed of it already, shall be kept out of it no longer; and since every man's right to his own body is _paramount_, he shall be protected in it."
- VIEW FAVORITES yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = '"Tax Farming" by Private Collectors Starts This Week at IRS'; yahooBuzzArticleSummary = 'IRS to spend $75 million with 3 private collection agencies (GOP connected?) and give them \'personal, private\' information on 12,500 US taxpayers who owe less than $25,000.
- If you are content to allow the public access to some parts of your private life or are content to talk about some parts of it (when you're happy about something, or when it's going to benefit you), you cannot then deny the public access to your private life of refuse to talk about it * on the grounds that it's private*!
- Re Shaun's comment on 4/1/05 see above that includes this sentence: "As I said before, my issue isn't with the sexual orientation, it's with people who lack the discretion to keep their private lives *private*"; and this one: "Were I to go into work Monday morning and regale my coworkers with tales of my sexual exploits, I'd likely lose my job."
- But, by one who speaks without notes is generally understood one who has only memorised his leading ideas, and it is always a judicious practice for a beginner to rehearse his leading topics and their amplifications in private, _that he may test his memory_, and then _become familiar_ with a procedure _in private_ in order to be sure to be _perfect in it before the public_.