Private industries and services are owned or controlled by an individual person or a commercial company, rather than by the state or an official organization.
[business]
...a joint venture with private industry.
Bupa runs private hospitals in Britain.
Brazil says its constitution forbids the private ownership of energy assets.
Synonyms: nonpublic, independent, commercial, privatised More Synonyms of private
privatelyadverb [ADVERB with verb]
No other European country had so few privately owned businesses.
She was privately educated at schools in Ireland and Paris.
Synonyms: secretly, personally, deep down, inwardly More Synonyms of private
Synonyms: in private, alone, discreetly, behind closed doors More Synonyms of private
2. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
Private individuals are acting only for themselves, and are not representing any group, company, or organization.
...the law's insistence that private citizens are not permitted to have weapons.
The King was on a private visit to enable him to pray at the tombs of his ancestors.
The family tried to bring a private prosecution against him for assault.
3. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Your private things belong only to you, or may only be used by you.
The landowners have had to sell their private aircraft.
They want more State control over private property.
There are 76 individually furnished bedrooms, all with private bathrooms.
He later travelled with the Prince of Wales as his private secretary.
4. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Private places or gatherings may be attended only by a particular group of people, rather than by the general public.
673 private golf clubs took part in a recent study.
The door is marked 'Private'.
He was buried in a private ceremony in Liverpool.
5. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Private meetings, discussions, and other activities involve only a small number of people, and very little information about them is given to other people.
Don't bug private conversations, and don't buy papers that reprint them.
privatelyadverb [oft ADVERB after verb]
Few senior figures have issued any public statements but privately the resignation'sbeen welcomed.
I had not talked to Winnette privately for weeks.
Synonyms: secretly, personally, deep down, inwardly More Synonyms of private
Synonyms: in private, alone, discreetly, behind closed doors More Synonyms of private
6. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Your private life is that part of your life that is concerned with your personal relationships and activities, rather than with your work or business.
I've always kept my private and professional life separate.
My private affairs are no one's business but my own.
Synonyms: personal, individual, secret, hidden More Synonyms of private
7. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Your private thoughts or feelings are ones that you do not talk about to other people.
We all felt as if we were intruding on his private grief.
It's just that it's something very private, and I simply can't talk about it.
privatelyadverb [ADVERB with verb]
Privately, she worries about whether she's really good enough.
He had privately resolved he would buy her the dress.
Synonyms: secretly, personally, deep down, inwardly More Synonyms of private
Synonyms: in private, alone, discreetly, behind closed doors More Synonyms of private
8. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
You can use private to describe situations or activities that are understood only by the people involved in them, and not by anyone else.
Chinese waiters stood in a cluster, sharing a private joke.
As many as 40 per cent of twins have a private language that excludes the rest ofthe family.
9. adjective
If you describe a place as private, or as somewhere where you can be private, you mean that it is a quiet place and you can be alone there without being disturbed.
It was the only reasonably private place they could find.
...a very attractive country house set within a uniquely beautiful and private position.
We were alone, completely private, with not even Angela present.
Synonyms: secluded, secret, separate, isolated More Synonyms of private
10. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
If you describe someone as a private person, you mean that they are very quiet by nature and do not reveal their thoughts and feelings to other people.
She has always been a rather private person.
Gould was an intensely private individual.
Synonyms: solitary, reserved, retiring, withdrawn More Synonyms of private
11. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
You can use private to describe lessons that are not part of ordinary school activity, and which are given by a teacher to an individual pupil or a small group, usually in return for payment.
Martial arts: Private lessons: £8 per hour.
...Donald Tovey, who took her as his private pupil for the piano.
12. countable noun & title noun
A private is a soldier of the lowest rank in an army or the marines.
One gunner in each battery was an NCO and the rest were privates.
...Private Martin Ferguson.
Synonyms: enlisted man [US, old-fashioned], tommy [British, old-fashioned], private soldier, Tommy Atkins [British, old-fashioned] More Synonyms of private
13. plural noun [usually poss NOUN]
Your privates are your genitals.
[informal]
You should wash your feet and your privates every day.
14. See also privately
15.
See in private
More Synonyms of private
private in British English
(ˈpraɪvɪt)
adjective
1.
not widely or publicly known
they had private reasons for the decision
2.
confidential; secret
a private conversation
3.
not for general or public use
a private bathroom
4. (prenominal)
individual; special
my own private recipe
5. (prenominal)
having no public office, rank, etc
a private man
6. (prenominal)
denoting a soldier of the lowest military rank
a private soldier
7.
of, relating to, or provided by a private individual or organization, rather than by the state or a public body
the private sector
private housing
8.
(of a place) retired; sequestered; not overlooked
9.
(of a person) reserved; uncommunicative
10. in private
noun
11.
a soldier of the lowest rank, sometimes separated into qualification grades, in many armies and marine corps
private first class
Derived forms
privately (ˈprivately)
adverb
Word origin
C14: from Latin prīvātus belonging to one individual, withdrawn from public life, from prīvāre to deprive, bereave
private in American English
(ˈpraɪvət)
adjective
1.
of, belonging to, or concerning a particular person or group; not common or general
private property, a private joke
2.
not open to, intended for, or controlled by the public
a private school
3.
for an individual person
a private room in a hospital
4.
not holding public office
a private citizen
5.
away from public view; secluded
a private dining room
6.
not publicly or generally known; confidential
a private matter
7.
tending to keep one's personal matters to oneself
a private person
8.
carried out on an individual basis
private medical practice
9.
engaged in work independent of institutions, organizations, agencies, etc.
private detective, private tutor
noun
10. [pl.]
the genitals
: also private parts
11.
an enlisted person of either of the two lowest ranks in the U.S. Army or of the lowest rank inthe U.S. Marine Corps
Idioms:
go private
in private
Derived forms
privately (ˈprivately)
adverb
Word origin
ME pryvat < L privatus, belonging to oneself, not to the state < privare, to separate, deprive < privus, separate, peculiar, prob. akin to OL pri: see prime
Examples of 'private' in a sentence
private
She had the fluting vowels of one of the eastern suburbs ' private schools.
Jon Cleary YESTERDAY'S SHADOW (2002)
Reality intruded rudely into his own, private, perfect world.
Jennifer Fallon TREASON KEEP (2002)
Andrea paid for a private nurse who would come in twice a day.
Robert Wilson THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS (2002)
In private, the Europeans at least say they would have done the same thing.
James W. Huston THE SHADOWS OF POWER (2002)
In other languages
private
British English: private /ˈpraɪvɪt/ ADJECTIVE
Private industries and services are owned and controlled by an individual person or group, rather than by the state.
...private education.
American English: private
Arabic: خُصُوصِّي
Brazilian Portuguese: privado
Chinese: 私密的
Croatian: privatan
Czech: soukromý
Danish: privat
Dutch: privé
European Spanish: privado
Finnish: yksityinen
French: privé
German: privat
Greek: ιδιωτικός
Italian: privato
Japanese: 個人的な
Korean: 사적인
Norwegian: privat
Polish: prywatny
European Portuguese: privado
Romanian: particular
Russian: частный
Latin American Spanish: privado
Swedish: privat
Thai: ที่เป็นส่วนตัว
Turkish: özel
Ukrainian: приватний
Vietnamese: riêng tư
All related terms of 'private'
go private
to restore private ownership of a corporation by buying back publicly held stock
in private
If you do something in private , you do it without other people being present , often because it is something that you want to keep secret.
private bar
the saloon or lounge bar of a public house
private eye
You can refer to a private detective as a private eye , especially when he or she is a character in a film or story .
private law
the branch of law that deals with the rights and duties of private individuals and the relations between them
buck private
a common soldier
private bill
a bill presented to Parliament or Congress on behalf of a private individual, corporation , etc
private dick
a private detective
private hotel
a residential hotel or boarding house in which the proprietor has the right to refuse to accept a person as a guest , esp a person arriving by chance
private joke
a joke that is understood only by a certain social group
private label
the label of a product, or the product itself, sold under the name of a wholesaler or retailer, by special arrangement with the manufacturer or producer
private life
the social or family life or personal relationships of an individual , esp of a person in the public eye , such as a politician or celebrity
private means
→ another name for private income
private parts
Your private parts are your genitals.
private press
a printing establishment primarily run as a pastime
private study
the act or process of studying outwith classes
private view
a preview , esp of an art exhibition , for specially invited guests
private company
a limited company that does not issue shares for public subscription and whose owners do not enjoy an unrestricted right to transfer their shareholdings
private equity
equity in a business that is raised from private sources, as opposed to shares that can be traded publicly
private hearing
a formal or official trial that is not open to the public
private income
an income from sources other than employment , such as investment
private member
a member of a legislative assembly , such as the House of Commons , not having an appointment in the government
private message
(on a social network ) a message that can be read only by one or more named recipients
private patient
a patient receiving medical treatment not paid for by the National Health Service
private school
A private school is a school which is not supported financially by the government and which parents have to pay for their children to go to.
private sector
The private sector is the part of a country's economy which consists of industries and commercial companies that are not owned or controlled by the government .
private soldier
A private soldier is a soldier of the lowest rank in an army or the marines .
private treaty
a sale of property for a price agreed directly between seller and buyer
private tuition
instruction , esp that received in a small group or individually, that is arranged and paid for by an individual rather than by the state
private detective
A private detective is someone who you can pay to find missing people or do other kinds of investigation for you.
private education
education provided by a private individual or organization, rather than by the state or a public body
private enterprise
Private enterprise is industry and business which is owned by individual people or commercial companies , and not by the government or an official organization.
private judgment
personal opinion formed independently of the expressed position of an institution , as in matters of religion or politics
private language
a language that is not merely secret or accidentally limited to one user , but that cannot in principle be communicated to another
private ownership
the fact of being owned by a private individual or organization, rather than by the state or a public body
private placement
A private placement is the sale of securities to a small chosen group of investors in order to raise capital.
private practice
medical practice that is not part of the National Health Service
private property
land or belongings owned by a person or group and kept for their exclusive use
private secretary
a secretary entrusted with the personal and confidential matters of a business executive
private viewdata
an interactive video text system with restricted access
private investigator
A private investigator is the same as a → private detective .
private pay bed
(in Britain) a bed in a National Health Service hospital , reserved for private patients who pay a consultant acting privately for treatment and who are charged by the health service for use of hospital facilities
private prosecution
a prosecution started by a private individual rather than by the police
private first class
an enlisted man ranking just below a corporal in the U.S. Army and just below a lance corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps
private member's bill
In Britain, a Private Member's Bill is a law that is proposed by a Member of Parliament acting as an individual rather than as a member of his or her political party.
private branch exchange
a telephone system that handles the internal and external calls of a building, firm , etc
private-equity company
an organization that uses private equity to gain control of and manage companies
private health insurance
insurance against the need for medical treatment as a private patient
private limited company
a company whose shares can be bought by the public
Private Finance Initiative
(in Britain) a government scheme to encourage private investment in public projects
Chinese translation of 'private'
private
(ˈpraɪvɪt)
adj
(= not public)
[property, land, plane]私人的 (sīrén de)
[performance, ceremony]非公开(開)的 (fēigōngkāi de)
(= not state-owned)[education, housing, health care, industries]私有的 (sīyǒu de)