Definition of public

• a. - Of or pertaining to the people; belonging to the people; relating to, or affecting, a nation, state, or community; -- opposed to private; as, the public treasury.
• a. - Open to the knowledge or view of all; general; common; notorious; as, public report; public scandal.
• a. - Open to common or general use; as, a public road; a public house.
• n. - The general body of mankind, or of a nation, state, or community; the people, indefinitely; as, the American public; also, a particular body or aggregation of people; as, an author's public.
• n. - A public house; an inn.