Meaning & use
private
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Meant for one person or a small group only, and kept apart from other people.
Grammar: Before a noun or after be: a private room; the garden is private.
Patterns
- a private place
- keep something private
This is a private conversation, so please give us a moment.
The beach is private, and only guests may use it.
She keeps her diary in a private drawer.
adjectivenot comparable
Owned or run by individuals or companies, not by the government.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a private school, a private company.
Patterns
- a private school
- a private company
He went to a private school before college.
The private sector hired many new workers.
They paid for private medical care.
adjectivecomparable
Not wanting to share one's feelings or personal life with others.
Grammar: Describes a person: he is a very private man.
Patterns
- a private person
She's a private person and rarely talks about her family.
He stayed private about his illness.
Many writers are surprisingly private people.
nouncountablemilitary
A soldier of the lowest rank in an army.
Grammar: A rank title, often before a name: Private Smith.
Patterns
- Private + name
The private saluted the sergeant.
Private Green carried the radio across the field.
He joined the army as a private.
Word forms
| comparative | more private |
|---|---|
| superlative | most private |
| plural | privates |
Common combinations
- private property
- Please keep out; this is private property.
- private life
- The actor protects his private life carefully.
- a private matter
- My finances are a private matter.
- in private
- Can we speak in private?
- private sector
- She works in the private sector.
- private school
- They sent their daughter to a private school.
Synonyms and how they differ
- personal
- Personal means belonging to or about one person, but does not suggest hiding it.
- confidential
- Confidential is stricter and means information that must not be shared, often in work.
- secluded
- Secluded describes a quiet place away from others, not information.
- independent
- Independent fits organizations free of government control, but says nothing about secrecy.
Opposites
Word family
- privacy noun
- the state of being free from observation
- privately adverb
- in a private way
- privatize verb
- to transfer from public to private ownership
- privatization noun
- the move of a business into private hands
Commonly confused: private or privet?
private vs privet
Privet is a shrub used for hedges; private is the word for something not public.
Practice
Could we talk somewhere more ___? I don't want everyone to hear.
Choose one answer.
Private means not shared or overheard by others. Public is the opposite and would not help the speaker's request.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “private”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.