private : Idioms & Phrases

Index

buck private

  • noun an enlisted man of the lowest rank in the Army or Marines
    common soldier; private.
    • our prisoner was just a private and knew nothing of value
WordNet

In private

  • adverb kept private or confined to those intimately concerned
    in camera; privately.
    • it was discussed privately between the two men
    • privately, she thought differently
    • some member of his own party hoped privately for his defeat
    • he was questioned in private
WordNet
  • secretly; not openly or publicly.
Webster 1913

Private act ∨ statute

  • a statute exclusively for the settlement of private and personal interests, of which courts do not take judicial notice; opposed to a general law, which operates on the whole community also, private law vs. public law .
Webster 1913

private citizen

  • noun a citizen who does not hold any official or public position
WordNet

private corporation

  • noun a corporation owned by a few people; shares have no public market
    closed corporation; privately held corporation; close corporation.
WordNet

private detective

  • noun someone who can be employed as a detective to collect information
    private eye; private detective; sherlock; shamus; PI; operative.
WordNet

private enterprise

  • noun an economy that relies chiefly on market forces to allocate goods and resources and to determine prices
    laissez-faire economy; market economy; free enterprise.
WordNet

private eye

  • noun someone who can be employed as a detective to collect information
    private eye; private detective; sherlock; shamus; PI; operative.
WordNet

private foundation

  • noun a charity that does not receive a major part of its support from the public
WordNet

private instructor

  • noun a person who gives private instruction (as in singing, acting, etc.)
    tutor; coach.
WordNet

private investigator

  • noun someone who can be employed as a detective to collect information
    private eye; private detective; sherlock; shamus; PI; operative.
WordNet

private line

  • noun a telephone line serving a single subscriber
WordNet

private nuisance

  • noun a nuisance that interferes with your interest in and private use and enjoyment of your land
WordNet

Private nuisance ∨ wrong

  • . See Nuisance.
Webster 1913

private parts

  • noun external sex organ
    privates; genitals; genitalia; crotch; genital organ.
WordNet

private practice

  • noun the practice of a profession independently and not as an employee
    • he teaches at the medical school but his fortune came from private practice
    • lawyers in private practice are in business and must make a profit to survive
WordNet

private property

  • noun movable property (as distinguished from real estate)
    personal estate; personal property; personalty.
WordNet

private road

  • noun a road leading up to a private house
    driveway; drive.
    • they parked in the driveway
WordNet

private school

  • noun a school established and controlled privately and supported by endowment and tuition
WordNet

private security force

  • noun a privately employed group hired to protect the security of a business or industry
    security force.
WordNet

Private soldier

  • . See Private, n., 5.
Webster 1913

private treaty

  • noun a sale of property at a price agreed on by the seller and buyer without an intervening agency
WordNet

Private way

  • a right of private passage over another man's ground.
Webster 1913

private-enterprise

  • adjective satellite subscribing to capitalistic competition
    free-enterprise; competitive.
WordNet