1. Confined to particular persons, groups or providing privacy
   "private lessons"; "a private club"; "a private secretary"; "private property"; "the former President is now a private citizen"; "public figures struggle to maintain a private life"; "a private place"; "private discussions"
    
2. Concerning one person exclusively
   "each room has a private bath";
   - individual
    
3. Concerning things deeply private and personal
   "private family matters";
   - intimate
    
4. Not expressed
   "private thoughts";
   - secret
    
5. Not connected with one's official position
   "He took a private trip to Europe"
    
6. Privately funded or owned, not public or state-run
   "She attended a private school"

1. An enlisted man of the lowest rank in the Army or Marines
   "our prisoner was just a private and knew nothing of value";
   - buck private [US], common soldier, squaddie [Brit, informal], Tommy [Brit, informal]

Derived forms: privates

See also: backstage, clannish, cliquish, cloistered, close, closed-door, clubby [informal], confidential, esoteric, head-to-head, insular, inward, nonpublic, offstage, one-on-one, one-to-one, personal, privy [archaic], reclusive, secluded, secret, semiprivate, sequestered, snobbish, snobby [informal], tête-à-tête, toffee-nosed [Brit, informal]

Type of: enlisted man [N. Amer]

Antonym: public

Encyclopedia: Private, 1st class