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: private life.
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.
solitary; secluded.
preferring privacy; retiring: a very private person.
intimate; most personal: private behavior.
of, having, or receiving special hospital facilities, privileges, and services, esp. a room of one's own and liberal visiting hours: a private room; a private patient.
of lowest military rank.
of, pertaining to, or coming from nongovernmental sources: private funding.
—n.
a soldier of one of the three lowest enlisted ranks.
See
not publicly; secretly: The hearing will be conducted in private.