private adjective - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of private adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

private

adjective
 OPAL W
 
/ˈpraɪvət/
 
/ˈpraɪvət/
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    not public

  1.  
     [usually before noun] belonging to or for the use of a particular person or group; not for public use
    • The sign said, ‘Private property. Keep out.’
    • You're trespassing on private land.
    • a private jet
    • Those are my father's private papers.
    • The hotel has 110 bedrooms, all with private bathrooms.
    • The villa has its own private beach.
    see also semiprivate

    2. conversation/meeting

  2.  
     intended for or involving a particular person or group of people, not for people in general or for others to know about
    • You shouldn't listen to other people's private conversations.
    • We agreed to keep our arrangement private.
    • They were sharing a private joke.
    • Senior defence officials held private talks.
    3.

    feelings/information

  3.  
     that you do not want other people to know about synonym secret
    • She was scared of revealing her private thoughts and feelings.
    4.

    not owned/run by state

  4.  
     [usually before noun] owned or managed by an individual person or an independent company rather than by the state
    • a private firm/business/hospital
    • The painting is now in a private collection.
    • a former soldier working in private security
    • The area has attracted substantial private investment.
    • a programme to return many of the state companies to private ownership
    opposite public
  5. (of education or medical care) provided for a fee by an individual person or an independent organization rather than by the state
    • She gives private English lessons at weekends.
    • (British English) If I can afford it, I think I'll go private (= pay for medical care rather than use the government service).
  6. [only before noun] working or acting for yourself rather than for the state or for a group or company
    • a private contractor/investigator
    • a private citizen/individual
    • We got the money from a private investor.
    Topics Healthcareb1

    7. not work

  7.  
     [usually before noun] not connected with your work or official position
    • a politician’s private life
    • She claimed she was acting in a private capacity.
    • He was on a private trip to Japan.
    8.

    quiet

  8.  
     where you are not likely to be interrupted; quiet
    • Let's go somewhere a bit more private.
    • They found a private corner where they could talk.
    opposite publicTopics Buildingsb1

    9. person

  9. [usually before noun] not wanting to share thoughts and feelings with other people
    • He's a very private person.
    10.

    money

  10. that you receive from property or other sources but do not have to earn
    • He has a private income.
    11. Word Originlate Middle English (originally denoting a person not acting in an official capacity): from Latin privatus ‘withdrawn from public life’, a use of the past participle of privare ‘bereave, deprive’, from privus ‘single, individual’.
See private in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee private in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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