# private

Pronunciation: say "PRY-vit" /ˈpɹaɪ.vɪt/

## Adjective

1. Owned, run, or paid for by individuals, companies, or other non-government bodies rather than by the state.
   - Simple: Owned, run, or paid for by people, companies, or groups, not by the government.
   - _Visitors are not allowed on the private property without permission._
   - _The hospital is run by a private foundation rather than the state._
2. For the use of one person or group only; not shared, overlooked, or open to the public.
   - Simple: Only for one person or group, where others cannot see or come in.
   - _The hotel has a private garden where guests can relax alone._
   - _A tall hedge made the patio feel pleasantly private._
3. Not publicly known; secret or confidential, or meant only for a specific person or group.
   - Simple: Kept secret, or meant only for one person or a chosen group.
   - _The negotiations were kept private until the deal was signed._
   - _Mark the envelope private so only the manager opens it._
4. Relating to someone's personal life rather than their official role, and often sensitive or personal.
   - Simple: About a person's own life, not their job or public duties.
   - _The senator asked the press to respect his private affairs._
   - _In his private life, the strict judge was a gentle grandfather who loved gardening._
5. Acting on one's own behalf, or done for one's own use, not in the way of business, trade or a profession.
   - Simple: Acting as a single person, or done for your own use, not for business or work.
   - _The license allows private use of the photos but forbids any commercial reuse._
   - _Most of the bids at the auction came from private collectors rather than galleries or dealers._
7. Not holding government office or being employed by the state.
   - Simple: Not working for the government or holding public office.
   - _Once a private citizen again, the former mayor opened a small business._
   - _After two terms in the Senate, she went back to life as a private citizen._
8. Not available for the public to buy and sell on an open exchange.
   - Simple: Not bought and sold by the public on the stock market.
   - _The firm remained private, with shares held by its founders._
   - _Investors in a private company cannot trade their stock on the open market._
10. Inclined to keep one's thoughts and feelings to oneself; reserved.
   - Simple: Keeping your thoughts and feelings to yourself.
   - _Deeply private, he shared almost nothing about his past._
   - _Her private nature made interviews uncomfortable for her._
13. Of a class member: accessible only to the class itself and its instances, not to other classes or even subclasses.
   - Simple: In computer programs, able to be used only inside its own class, not from outside.
   - _Marking the field private prevents other classes from modifying it directly._
   - _The method was declared private, so code in other classes could not call it._
16. Of the mind or of language, not experienceable or knowable by others, even in principle.
   - Simple: Belonging only to one person's mind, so no one else can ever feel or know it.
   - _Philosophers debate whether sensations are wholly private to the one who feels them._
   - _The argument denies that any meaning could be entirely private to a single speaker._

## Noun

6. A soldier at the bottom of the army's rank structure.
   - Simple: A soldier who holds the lowest rank in the army.
   - _As a raw private, he spent his first weeks scrubbing the barracks._
   - _The sergeant drilled the new privates until sundown._
9. A one-on-one teaching session, especially one paid for outside regular group classes.
   - Simple: A lesson for just one student, not a whole class.
   - _He could only afford one private a month with the voice tutor._
   - _Bookings for privates filled up faster than spots in the group lessons._
11. In the plural (privates), a polite or indirect word for the genitals. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A polite word for the sex organs, always used in the plural as privates.
   - _The doctor asked him to point to where his privates hurt._
   - _She wrapped the toddler in a towel to cover his privates._
14. A private-sector health-care provider, such as a doctor or hospital, as opposed to a publicly run one, usually in the plural (the privates).
   - Simple: A doctor, hospital, or other provider in paid private health care, not the public system.

## Verb

12. To hide something posted online, such as a video or an account, from public view without permanently deleting it.
   - Simple: To hide something online from the public while still keeping it saved.
   - _After the backlash, the influencer privated his account and stayed offline for a month._
   - _You can private a playlist so that nobody else can see what you've been listening to._

## Noun

15. Privacy; the state of being alone and withdrawn from other people's company. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The state of being alone, away from other people.
17. An ordinary individual who holds no public office. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A normal person who does not hold any government job or office.
18. A confidential message, or a personal communication outside official channels. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A secret message sent to someone in a personal, unofficial way.
19. One's personal interest or particular business. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A person's own personal concern or particular business.

## Origin

This word comes from Middle English privat(e) meaning individual or exclusive, from Latin prīvātus (set apart, deprived), the past participle of prīvō (to deprive or release). That in turn comes from prīvus (private, one's own), and it is a doublet of privy.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/private (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).