general public

noun

Those members of the public who have no special role in a particular area, such as an airport, hospital or railway station; there will typically be restrictions on their access.

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Meanings

noungeneral public pl (plural only)
  1. pluralplural onlyThose members of the public who have no special role in a particular area, such as an airport, hospital or railway station; there will typically be restrictions on their access.
  2. pluralplural onlyMembers of the public not in the attentive public of any given issue; laypeople.

    After days of intensifying pressure from runners, politicians and the general public to call off the New York City Marathon in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, city officials and the event’s organizers decided Friday afternoon to cancel the race.

    2012 November 2, Ken Belson, New York Times, retrieved 02 Nov 2012

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
canaillecommonaltycrowdgreat unwashedhoi polloimanyodds and sodsplebsrabbleriffraffunwashed masses

Translations

Arabic عَامَّة اَلنَّاس
  • عَامَّة اَلنَّاس (ʕāmmat an-nās)members of the public who have no special role
Chinese Mandarin 公眾 /公众, 大眾 /大众
  • 公眾 /公众 (gōngzhòng)members of the public who have no special role
  • 大眾 /大众 (dàzhòng)members of the public who have no special role
  • 群眾 /群众 (qúnzhòng)members of the public who have no special role
  • 外行 (wàiháng)laypeople
Danish almenhed, offentlighed
  • almenhedmembers of the public who have no special role
  • offentlighedmembers of the public who have no special role
Finnish suuri yleisö, suuri yleisö
  • suuri yleisömembers of the public who have no special role
  • suuri yleisölaypeople
French grand public
  • grand publicmembers of the public who have no special role
German Allgemeinheit
  • Allgemeinheitmembers of the public who have no special role
Italian pubblico generale
  • pubblico generalemembers of the public who have no special role
Japanese 大衆, 一般の人々
  • 大衆 (taishū)members of the public who have no special role
  • 一般の人々 (ippan-no hitobito)members of the public who have no special role
  • 素人 (shirōto)laypeople
  • 門外漢 (mongaikan)laypeople
Māori iwi whānui
  • iwi whānuimembers of the public who have no special role
Norwegian Bokmål allmennhet
  • allmennhetmembers of the public who have no special role
Polish społeczeństwo
  • społeczeństwomembers of the public who have no special role
Russian обще́ственность, ма́ссы
  • обще́ственность (obščéstvennostʹ)members of the public who have no special role
  • ма́ссы (mássy)members of the public who have no special role
  • широ́кая пу́блика (širókaja públika)members of the public who have no special role
  • миря́не (mirjáne)laypeople
  • дилета́нты (diletánty)laypeople
Spanish gran público, profanos
  • gran públicomembers of the public who have no special role
  • profanoslaypeople
  • legoslaypeople
Swedish folkdjup
  • folkdjupmembers of the public who have no special role
Tamil பொதுமக்கள், பொதுமக்கள்
  • பொதுமக்கள் (potumakkaḷ)members of the public who have no special role
  • பொதுமக்கள் (potumakkaḷ)laypeople
Vietnamese công chúng, xã hội
  • công chúngmembers of the public who have no special role
  • xã hộimembers of the public who have no special role
Cite this entry
APA

general public. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/general%20public

MLA

“general public.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/general%20public. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “general public,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/general%20public.

Source: general public on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.