private

comparative more private · superlative most private

1. Belonging or pertaining to an individual person, group of people, or entity that is not the state.

   In some countries, healthcare is provided by both the government and private companies.

   1 more example

   Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16.[…]There are no inspectors, no exams until the age of 18, no school league tables, no private tuition industry, no school uniforms.

   2013 July 19, Peter Wilby, “Finland spreads word on schools”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 30

2. Relating to an individual or group of individuals outside of their official roles; often, sensitive or personal.

   This book is her private journal.

   2 more examples

   It was a very private thing, they felt, and not to be tossed indiscriminately about.

   1968, Carl Ruhen, The Key Club, Sydney: Scripts, page 78

   Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.

   2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18

3. Not publicly known or divulged; secret, confidential; (of a message) intended only for a specific person or group.

   The identity of the beneficiaries of the trust is private.

   1 more example

   The key point in the original article was that the relationship with the woman, named “Colette,” came to light because Aupetit had sent a private letter meant for her to his secretary instead.

   2021 December 12, John L. Allen Jr., “In Vatican’s clumsy stab at censorship, the massage becomes the message”, in Crux

4. Protected from view or disturbance by others; secluded; not publicly accessible.

   Can we go somewhere more private?

   1 more example

   I invited him to take breakfast with me; he accepted the invitation, and told me he would tell me about himself when we were in a more private place.

   1887, George H. Devol, Forty Years a Gambler on the Mississippi, page 58

5. Not in governmental office or employment.

   Military secrets should not be entrusted to unreliable private individuals.

6. Secretive; reserved.

   He is a very private person.

7. businessNot traded by the public.

   private equity

   1 more example

   Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.

   2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70

8. Of a room in a medical facility, not shared with another patient.
9. Financially reliant on fees rather than government funding.
10. not comparableobject-oriented programmingAccessible only to the class itself or instances of it, and not to other classes or even subclasses.

    Antonyms: public, published

11. human sciencesOf the mind or language, not in principle experienceable, knowable, or understandable by others.

plural privates

1. A soldier of the lowest rank in the army.
2. A doctor working in privately rather than publicly funded health care.

   Because you are already moving people with the limitations of what we did in 1982 on the capping of Medicare, you are finding out that the privates are picking up that slack, […]

   1993, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Affairs, The implementation of employer sanctions: Hearings

   1 more example

   In the cities and towns of California, privates are pressuring county governments to close or reduce in size their hospitals and to pay private hospitals for the care of low-income patients. Thus everything is stacked against public hospitals.

   1973, Health/PAC Bulletin, numbers 48-67, page 2

3. euphemisticin pluralThe genitals.

   Synonyms: bits, private parts

4. obsoleteA secret message; a personal unofficial communication.

   The Count Meloone, a Noble Lord of France, Whose priuate with me of the Dolphines loue, s much more generall, then these lines import.

   c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]

5. obsoletePersonal interest; particular business.

   Nor must I be unmindful of my private.

   1611, Ben[jamin] Jonson, Catiline His Conspiracy, London: […] [William Stansby?] for Walter Burre, →OCLC, (please specify the page)

6. obsoletePrivacy; retirement.

   Go off, I diſcard you: let me enioy my priuate: go off.

   c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv], page 268, column 1

7. obsoleteOne not invested with a public office.

   And what haue Kings, that Priuates haue not too,[…]

   1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 85, column 1

8. plural normallyA private lesson.

   If you want to learn ballet, consider taking privates.

present singular third person privates · participle present privating · participle past privated · past privated

1. InternettransitiveTo make something hidden from the public (without deleting it permanently).

   During these negotiations, however, the Kleins say that Hosseinzadeh issued a copyright takedown for the video — even after it had already been privated.

   2016 May 25, Geoff Weiss, “H3h3Productions Sued For Copyright Infringement By MattHossZone, Spotlighting Fraught Issue Of Fair Use”, in Tubefilter

   3 more examples

   Shay has also since briefly returned to social media, making a quick post on Instagram. His account was privated following his scandal in February and his Twitter remains inactive.

   2017 May 15, Rebecka Schumann, “Shay Carl’s Cam Girl Goes After Another Famous Man On YouTube”, in International Business Times

   "[…] IOI had no part in privating the subreddit, this was entirely the decision of the moderators, and we are just fellow fans like you who volunteer our time to help out," a moderator wrote.

   2022 January 28, Jared Moore, “Hitman 3: Steam Owners Will Get Free Upgrades to Make Up for Shaky Launch”, in IGN

   “Must be hard being a one-hit wonder,” a follower negged me once. “Actually, yes,” I joked in a now-privated video response. “Thank you for noticing.”

   2022 February 18, Sonja Smith-Yang, “I went viral on TikTok and it wasn’t what I expected”, in The Independent

plural Privates

1. governmentAlternative letter-case form of private.