belonging to some particular person: private property.
pertaining to or affecting a particular person or a small group of persons; individual; personal: for your private satisfaction.
confined to or intended only for the persons immediately concerned; confidential: a private meeting.
personal and not publicly expressed: one's private feelings.
not holding public office or employment: private citizens.
not of an official or public character; unrelated to one's official job or position: a former senator who has returned to private life;a college president speaking in his private capacity as a legal expert.
removed from or out of public view or knowledge; secret: private papers.
not open or accessible to the general public: a private beach.
undertaken individually or personally: private research.
without the presence of others; alone: Let's go into another room where we can be private.
solitary; secluded: He wants to meet us in a more private place.
preferring privacy; retiring: a very private person.
intimate; most personal: private behavior.
of, having, or receiving special hospital facilities, privileges, and services, especially a room of one's own and liberal visiting hours: a private room; a private patient.
of lowest military rank.
of, relating to, or coming from nongovernmental sources: private funding.
noun
a soldier of one of the three lowest enlisted ranks.
privates.private parts.
Idioms for private
in private, not publicly; secretly: The hearing will be conducted in private.
Origin of private
1350–1400; Middle English <Latin prīvātus private, literally, taken away (from public affairs), special use of past participle of prīvāre to rob. See deprive, -ate1