Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use private in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, noun, verb

Private means belonging or pertaining to an individual person, group of people, or entity that is not the state. Example: “In some countries, healthcare is provided by both the government and private companies.”

Examples of private by meaning

adjectiveBelonging or pertaining to an individual person, group of people, or entity that is not the state.

  • In some countries, healthcare is provided by both the government and private companies.

adjectiveRelating to an individual or group of individuals outside of their official roles; often, sensitive or personal.

  • This book is her private journal.
  • It was a very private thing, they felt, and not to be tossed indiscriminately about.1968, Carl Ruhen, The Key Club, Sydney: Scripts, page 78
  • Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18

adjectiveNot publicly known or divulged; secret, confidential; (of a message) intended only for a specific person or group.

  • The identity of the beneficiaries of the trust is private.
  • The key point in the original article was that the relationship with the woman, named “Colette,” came to light because Aupetit had sent a private letter meant for her to his secretary instead.2021 December 12, John L. Allen Jr., “In Vatican’s clumsy stab at censorship, the massage becomes the message”, in Crux

adjectiveProtected from view or disturbance by others; secluded; not publicly accessible.

  • Can we go somewhere more private?

adjectiveNot in governmental office or employment.

  • Military secrets should not be entrusted to unreliable private individuals.

adjectiveSecretive; reserved.

  • He is a very private person.

adjectiveNot traded by the public.

  • Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70

nounA doctor working in privately rather than publicly funded health care.

  • In the cities and towns of California, privates are pressuring county governments to close or reduce in size their hospitals and to pay private hospitals for the care of low-income patients.1973, Health/PAC Bulletin, numbers 48-67, page 2

More sentences with private

  • Some think to tax wealth is destructive of a private sector.From the entry tax
  • Sir, yes, sir! —Don't you sir me, private! I work for a living!From the entry sir
  • The Thatcherite experiment proved the private sector can railroad as inefficiently as a state monopoly.From the entry railroad
  • Private First Class (PFC) is the second-lowest rank in the Marines.From the entry rank
  • The fifth amendment to the United States constitution provides explicitly for the protection of private property.From the entry explicitly
  • Since then, the ex-minister has been in absentia, likely relaxing on his private yacht.From the entry in absentia
  • We found a secluded spot where we could make out in private.From the entry make out
  • As public funding is reduced, we depend increasingly on private philanthropy.From the entry philanthropy
  • My e-mail addy is being spammed. I should've kept it private.From the entry addy
  • He made his reputation as a legal eagle as a prosecutor before entering private practice.From the entry legal eagle
  • He was a prosecutor before entering private practice and gaining a reputation as a legal beagle.From the entry legal beagle
  • Police believe that the painting was stolen to order for a private collection.From the entry to order
  • That company is closely held; its equity is all private equity.From the entry private equity
  • Civil dissensions often spirit the ambition of private men.From the entry spirit
  • Drop and give me thirty push-ups, private!From the entry drop
  • Our private tour of the cathedral even allowed us to walk through the apse, which most tours don't.From the entry apse
  • She owns a fleet of private medical transport vans.From the entry fleet
  • The brash private had the audacity to criticize the general.From the entry audacity
  • "Private Eye" has a small but faithful audience.From the entry audience
  • Private jets and motor yachts are perquisites of the rich.From the entry perquisite
  • An intensely private man, he kept chit-chat to a minimum.From the entry intensely
  • She prefers to keep her private parts au naturel.From the entry au naturel
  • Private Johnson was afraid the Lieutenant considered him an expendable, since he was always picked as point man.From the entry expendable
  • The kick in the privates must have hurt.From the entry privates
  • Java has the access specifiers private, protected, public, and the default specifier package that does not have a keyword.From the entry access specifier
  • Political donations are a matter of public record; your vote is private, but anyone can see how you donate.From the entry public record
  • The government should butt out of people's private lives.From the entry butt out
  • Today's society is highly ergocentric, with so many people putting their work lives before their social and private lives.From the entry ergocentric
  • He was a well-travelled man of private means.From the entry private means

Meaning of private

  1. adjective Belonging or pertaining to an individual person, group of people, or entity that is not the state.
  2. adjective Relating to an individual or group of individuals outside of their official roles; often, sensitive or personal.
  3. adjective Not publicly known or divulged; secret, confidential; (of a message) intended only for a specific person or group.

Full definition of private

Questions about private in a sentence

How do you use private in a sentence?
Private is used as an adjective, noun and verb. For example: “In some countries, healthcare is provided by both the government and private companies.”
What is a short sentence with private?
“Can we go somewhere more private?”
What does private mean?
Private means belonging or pertaining to an individual person, group of people, or entity that is not the state.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: private (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use private in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/private. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.