Skip to definition.
Get the FREE one-click dictionary software for Windows or the iPhone/iPad and Android apps


Adjective: private  prI-vut
  1. Confined to particular persons, groups or providing privacy
    "a private place"; "private discussions"; "private lessons"; "a private club"; "a private secretary"; "private property"; "the former President is now a private citizen"; "public figures struggle to maintain a private life"
     
  2. Concerning things deeply private and personal
    "private family matters";
    - intimate
     
  3. Concerning one person exclusively
    "each room has a private bath";
    - individual
     
  4. Not expressed
    "private thoughts";
    - secret
Noun: private  prI-vut
  1. An enlisted man of the lowest rank in the Army or Marines
    "our prisoner was just a private and knew nothing of value";
    - buck private [US], common soldier, squaddie [Brit, informal], Tommy [Brit, informal]

Derived forms: privates

See also: backstage, clannish, cliquish, cloistered, close, closed-door, clubby [informal], confidential, esoteric, head-to-head, insular, inward, nonpublic, offstage, one-on-one, personal, privy, reclusive, secluded, secret, semiprivate, sequestered, snobbish, snobby [informal], tête-à-tête, toffee-nosed [Brit, informal]

Type of: enlisted man [N. Amer]

Antonym: public

Encyclopedia: Private, 1st class