private

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Meant for one particular person or group, not for everyone.

   This is a private beach for hotel guests only.

2. 2
   adj

   Secret or personal; not meant to be shared with others.

   She kept her feelings private and told no one.

3. 3
   adj

   Owned or run by a person or company, not by the government.

   They sent their son to a private school.

4. 4
   noun

   A soldier of the lowest rank in the army.

   He joined the army as a private and slowly rose through the ranks.

Common collocations

• private school Adjective + noun
• private club Adjective + noun
• private company Adjective + noun
• private conversation Adjective + noun
• private detective Adjective + noun
• private joke Adjective + noun
• private life Adjective + noun
• private matter Adjective + noun
• private plane Adjective + noun

From Middle English privat(e) (“individual, exclusive, private”), from Latin prīvātus (“bereaved, deprived, set apart from, release”), perfect passive participle of prīvō (“to bereave, deprive, release”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more), from prīvus (“private, one's own, proper”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per; compare prime, prior, pristine. Doublet of privy.

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