private

play

adjective pri·vate \ ˈprī-vət \

Definition of private

1 a :intended for or restricted to the use of a particular person, group, or class

a private park

b :belonging to or concerning an individual person, company, or interest

a private house

c (1) :restricted to the individual or arising independently of others

private opinion

(2) :carried on by the individual independently of the usual institutions

a doctor in private practice

; also :being educated by independent study or a tutor or in a private school

private students

d :not general in effect

a private statute

e :of, relating to, or receiving hospital service in which the patient has more privileges than a semiprivate or ward patient

2 a (1) :not holding public office or employment

a private citizen

(2) :not related to one's official position :personal

private correspondence

b :being a private

3 a :withdrawn from company or observation

a private retreat

b :not known or intended to be known publicly :secret

c :preferring to keep personal affairs to oneself :valuing privacy highly

d :unsuitable for public use or display

4 :not having shares that can be freely traded on the open market

a private company

—

privately

adverb

—

privateness

noun

See private defined for English-language learners

See private defined for kids

Examples of private in a Sentence

It was the first time many had seen works from the artist's private collection.
At work he was always very serious, but in his private life, he was actually very funny and relaxed.
Please keep all my personal information private.
He's a very private person.

Recent Examples of private from the Web

Democratic lawmakers peg the cost of an 1,800-mile wall at $67 billion, not including the cost of compensating private owners for taking their land.

— terrence dopp, Bloomberg.com, "How Trump’s Wall Could Shut Down the Government," 30 Aug. 2017
In an effort to more strongly encourage private companies to step up and offer coverage, several analysts have suggested tying access to participation in other government programs to a willingness to offer individual ACA policies as well.

— julie rovner, Kaiser Health News, "5 Outside-The-Box Ideas For Fixing The Individual Insurance Market," 30 Aug. 2017
The latest crackdown—an evolving effort to ban virtual private networks (VPNs) not under government control—could seriously erode scientists' ability to stay connected with peers abroad.

— dennis normile, Science | AAAS, "Science suffers as China’s internet censors plug holes in Great Firewall," 30 Aug. 2017
Harford County’s 10 public school teams and one private school team have been on the field since early August preparing.

— randy mcroberts, The Aegis, "2017 high school football preview," 30 Aug. 2017
His family has already held private funeral services.

— cynthia sewell, idahostatesman, "Now is your chance to pay your respects to Idaho’s longest-serving governor," 30 Aug. 2017
PFM noted that private-sector employers have largely shifted to 401(k)-style retirement plans and rarely offer retiree health care benefits.

— tom loftus, The Courier-Journal, "Kentucky Pension Crisis: Are benefits too generous?," 29 Aug. 2017
But they’d always been closely linked with private enterprise.

— erin blakemore, The Atlantic, "How the Confederacy Is Etched Into American Roads," 29 Aug. 2017
Teacher unions and some school officials also oppose the credits, saying taxpayer money shouldn't be used to fund private schools.

— suzanne baker, Naperville Sun, "After Rauner signs funding bill, Naperville-area schools may see state dollars," 29 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'private.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of private

Middle English privat, from Anglo-French, from Latin privatus, from past participle of privare to deprive, release, from privus private, individual; probably akin to Latin pro for, in front of — more at for

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

private Synonyms

Synonyms

behind-the-scenes, confidential, esoteric, hushed, hush-hush, inside, intimate, nonpublic, privy, secret

Antonyms

common, open, public

Near Antonyms

well-known; advertised, aired, announced, blazed, broadcast, declared, disclosed, divulged, enunciated, heralded, proclaimed, professed, promulgated, publicized, published, reported, spotlighted; general, popular, prevailing, vulgar; current, prevalent, rife, widespread; communal, shared

private

noun

Definition of private

1 archaic :one not in public office

2 obsolete :privacy

3 privates plural :private parts

4 a :a person of low rank in any of various organizations (such as a police or fire department)

b :an enlisted person of the lowest rank in the marine corps or of one of the two lowest ranks in the army

— in private

:not openly or in public

See private defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of private from the Web

The blaze, located 1.5 miles from privates structures, is held on one side by a forest road.

— OregonLive.com, "Conflagration declared, hundreds evacuated in Oregon wildfires," 20 Aug. 2017
An unidentified victim told police Thursday evening that a man was following her and another individual around a park, watching them playing, with his pants down and privates exposed.

— darcy costello, The Courier-Journal, "Blame it on the groundhog: Man accused of public masturbation says he was 'startled' by critter," 11 Aug. 2017
Leyton Orient reserve goalkeeper Sam Sargeant was caught having a little scratch of his privates during a 2-0 loss to Sutton United.

— SI.com, "VIDEO: Leyton Orient Sub Caught Enjoying a Good Scratch of His Nuts on the Bench During Sutton Loss," 6 Aug. 2017
The audience grasps all this in a matter of seconds, but can't tear their eyes away from one detail: a newspaper fig leaf strategically covering Reiji's privates (for some reason, everybody is naked).

— deborah young, The Hollywood Reporter, "'The Mole Song — Hong Kong Capriccio': Film Review | Shanghai 2017," 30 June 2017
Motorists on one of Rock Hill’s busiest streets were given an unobstructed view of a man’s privates Wednesday morning, when a 39-year-old man decided to hit the streets without pants or underwear.

— mark price, charlotteobserver, "Stubborn ‘nudist’ bares it all ambling along one of Charlotte region’s busy roads," 8 June 2017
GOING PRIVATE: Nordstrom surged 13.7 percent on news that the Nordstrom family are considering taking the troubled department store chain private.

— alex veiga, The Mercury News, "As Comey testifies, U.S. stock indexes are mixed in early trading," 8 June 2017
By Philip Bump, The Washington Post Bernie O. Aaberg was an Army private with the 170th Engineer Combat Battalion from Minnesota who went missing in the Philippines during World War II.

— the washington post, The Denver Post, "More than 80,000 American service members remain missing in action," 29 May 2017
Two weeks ago, Wells Fargo suspended Chip Flannagan, a senior vice president and regional managing director for the bank’s Chicago private-banking operations, ordering him to keep...

— michael wursthorn, WSJ, "Wells Fargo Probes Client Handling at Chicago Wealth Branch," 10 May 2017

First Known Use of private

15th century

PRIVATE Defined for English Language Learners

private

play

adjective

Definition of private for English Language Learners

: for the use of a single person or group : belonging to one person or group : not public
: not relating to a person's official position or job
: not known by the public or by other people

private

noun

Definition of private for English Language Learners

: a person of the lowest rank in the U.S. or British Army or the U.S. Marines

PRIVATE Defined for Kids

private

play

adjective pri·vate \ ˈprī-vət \

Definition of private for Students

1 :having to do with or for the use of a single person or group :not public

private property

2 :not holding any public office

a private citizen

3 :¹secret 1

private meetings

—

privately

adverb

private

noun

Definition of private for Students

:an enlisted person of the lowest rank in the marine corps or of either of the two lowest ranks in the army

Medical Dictionary

private

play

adjective pri·vate \ ˈprī-vət \

medical Definition of private

1 :of, relating to, or receiving hospital service in which the patient has more privileges than a semiprivate or ward patient

2 :of, relating to, or being private practice

a private office

a private practitioner

Law Dictionary

private

adjective pri·vate

legal Definition of private

1 a :intended for or restricted to the use of a particular person or group or class of persons :not available to the public

a private park

b :not related to, controlled by, or deriving from the state

a 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

a 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

a 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

a private instrument

Learn More about private

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for private Spanish Central: Translation of private Nglish: Translation of private for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of private for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about private

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private

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PRIVATE Defined for English Language Learners

private

Definition of private for English Language Learners

private

Definition of private for English Language Learners

PRIVATE Defined for Kids

private

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privately

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Medical Dictionary

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Law Dictionary

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