adj.
- for or belonging to one particular person or group only.
▸(of thoughts, feelings, etc.) not to be shared or revealed.
▸(of a person) not choosing to share their thoughts and feelings.
▸(of a place) secluded.
▸alone and undisturbed by others.
- (of a person) having no official or public position.
▸not connected with one's work or official position.
- (of a service or industry) provided or owned by an individual or commercial company rather than the state.
▸relating to a system of education or medical treatment conducted outside the state system and charging fees.
- relating to or denoting a transaction between individuals.
n.
- the lowest rank in the army, below lance corporal or private first class.
-
(privates)
informal short for private parts.
Phrase
- in private
with no one else present.
Derivative
Etymology
ME: from L. privatus ‘withdrawn from public life’, a use of the past part. of privare ‘bereave, deprive’, from privus ‘single, individual’.