Definition of private

• a. - Belonging to, or concerning, an individual person, company, or interest; peculiar to one's self; unconnected with others; personal; one's own; not public; not general; separate; as, a man's private opinion; private property; a private purse; private expenses or interests; a private secretary.
• a. - Sequestered from company or observation; appropriated to an individual; secret; secluded; lonely; solitary; as, a private room or apartment; private prayer.
• a. - Not invested with, or engaged in, public office or employment; as, a private citizen; private life.
• a. - Not publicly known; not open; secret; as, a private negotiation; a private understanding.
• a. - Having secret or private knowledge; privy.
• n. - A secret message; a personal unofficial communication.
• n. - Personal interest; particular business.
• n. - Privacy; retirement.
• n. - One not invested with a public office.
• n. - A common soldier; a soldier below the grade of a noncommissioned officer.
• n. - The private parts; the genitals.