Privet is a type of bush with small leaves that stay green all year round. It is often grown in gardens to form hedges.
The garden was enclosed by a privet hedge.
privet in British English
(ˈprɪvɪt)
noun
a.
any oleaceous shrub of the genus Ligustrum, esp L. vulgare or L. ovalifolium, having oval dark green leaves, white flowers, and purplish-black berries
b.
(as modifier)
a privet hedge
Word origin
C16: of unknown origin
privet in American English
(ˈprɪvɪt)
noun
any of a genus (Ligustrum) of shrubs or trees of the olive family, with bluish-black berries and spikes of white flowers, often grown for hedges; esp., the common privet (L. vulgare)
Examples of 'privet' in a sentence
privet
Suburban, he thought, those houses and their clipped privet hedges, but home to a lot of people who wouldn't think as he did.
Ross, Melville LOHENGRIN (1989)
Of course, by now he's across, safe and sound, rolling up the rise to park beside the stand of privet.