pubˈlican noun

1. The keeper of an inn or public house
2. A tax farmer (Roman hist)
3. A tax collector (Roman hist)

publicāˈtion noun

1. The act of publishing or making public
2. A proclamation
3. The act of sending out (a book, etc) for sale
4. Something that is published, a book

pubˈlicist /-sist/ noun

1. Someone who publicizes something
2. An advertising agent
3. Someone who writes on or is skilled in public law, or on current political topics (rare)

publicity /pub-lisˈi-ti/ noun

1. Publicness, the state of being open to everyone's observation or knowledge
2. Notoriety
3. Acclaim
4. The process of making something known to the general public
5. Advertising

pubˈlicize or pubˈlicise /-sīz/ transitive verb

1. To give publicity to
2. To make known to the general public, to advertise

pubˈlicly adverb

pubˈlicness noun (rare)

public act see public bill below.

public address system noun

A system that enables (large) groups of people to be addressed clearly, consisting of microphones, amplifiers and loudspeakers

public art noun

1. Works of art put on display for the general public in public places as opposed to museums, etc
2. The provision of such works of art

public bar noun

A bar, usu less well furnished than a lounge bar, and usu serving drinks at lower prices

public bill or public act noun

A parliamentary bill or act of legislation affecting the general public

public company or public limited company noun

A company whose shares can be offered for sale to the general public (abbrev plc)

public convenience see convenience under convenient

public corporation noun

One owned by the government and run on business principles, being for the most part self-governing

public data network noun (computing)

A communications system for carrying digital data which is open to anyone who wishes to subscribe

public defender noun (US)

A defence lawyer engaged at public expense to represent those unable to pay legal fees

public document noun

Any document, such as a statistical report or register, which is made public and which can be consulted by members of the public

public domain noun

The status of a published work which is not, or is no longer, subject to copyright

public-domainˈ adjective (computing)

Available to the general public free of charge

public enemy noun

Someone whose behaviour is considered to be a menace to a community in general

public expenditure noun

Spending by government, local authorities, etc

public funds plural noun

Government-funded debt

public health noun

The maintenance of the health of a community, eg by sanitation, hygienic food preparation, etc, and the measures to achieve this

public health inspector see environmental health officer under environment

public holiday noun

A general holiday

public house noun

1. A house open to the public (obsolete)
2. A building chiefly used for selling alcoholic liquors to be consumed on the premises
3. An inn or tavern

public image see under image

public inquiry noun

An investigation held in public into various aspects (eg safety, environmental effect) of eg a proposed engineering or building project

public-keyˈ adjective (computing)

Of a system of cryptography in which encoding of messages to a particular recipient is done using a public (communal) key, and decoding is by a different (private) key known only to the recipient

public lands plural noun

Lands belonging to a government, esp such as are open to sale, grant, etc

public law noun

1. The law governing relations between public authorities, such as the state, and the individual
2. Sometimes used for international law which, however, may be either public or private

public lecture noun

A lecture open to the general public

public lending right noun

An author's right to payment when his or her books are borrowed from public libraries

public liability see under liable

public limited company see public company above.

public nuisance noun

1. An illegal act harming the general community rather than an individual (law)
2. An annoying, irritating person (informal)

public opinion noun

The opinion of the general public on matters which affect the whole community

public opinion poll noun

A taking of public opinion based on the answers of scientifically selected elements in the community to questioning

public orator noun

An officer of English universities who is the voice of the Senate on all public occasions

public ownership noun

Ownership by the state, eg of nationalized industry

public prosecutor noun

An official whose function is to prosecute people charged with offences

public purse noun

The nation's finances

public relations singular noun

1. The relations between a person, organization, etc and the public
2. The business of setting up and maintaining favourable relations
3. A department of government, an industrial firm, etc, dealing with this

public-relaˈtions adjective

public school noun

1. An endowed grammar school providing a liberal education for those who can afford it, eg Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester, Westminster, Shrewsbury, Charterhouse, St Paul's, Merchant Taylors’
2. A school under the control of a publicly elected body and publicly funded (US)

pubˈlic-school adjective

public sector noun

Government-financed industry, social service, etc

public servant noun

A person employed by the government

public speaking noun

1. The making of formal speeches to a large audience
2. The art of making such speeches

public spending noun

Spending by the government

public-spirˈited adjective

1. Having feelings actuated by regard to the public interest
2. With a regard to the public interest

public-spirˈitedly adverb

public transport noun

Buses, trains, etc for the use of the general public

public trustee noun

(also with caps) an official who is appointed to act as a trustee or executor where required

public utility noun

1. A service or supply provided in a town, etc, for the public, as gas, electricity, water or transport
2. A company providing such a service (US)
3. (in pl) public utility shares

public woman noun (obsolete)

A prostitute

public works plural noun

Building, etc operations funded by the state

go public

1. To become a public company
2. To make widely known something that has been private

in public

Openly, publicly