Adjacent Words

Public definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PUB'LIC, a. [L.publicus, from the root of populus, people; that is, people-like.]
1. Pertaining to a nation, state or community; extending to a whole people; as a public law, which binds the people of a nation or state, as opposed to a private statute or resolve, which respects an individual or a corporation only. Thus we say, public welfare, public good, public calamity, public service, public property.
2. Common to many; current or circulated among people of all classes; general; as public report; public scandal.
3. Open; notorious; exposed to all persons without restriction.
Joseph her husband being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. Matthew 1.
4. Regarding the community; directed to the interest of a nation, state or community; as public spirit; public mindedness; opposed to private or selfish.
5. Open for general entertainment; as a public house.
6. Open to common use; as a public road.
7. In general, public expresses something common to mankind at large, to a nation, state, city or town, and is opposed to private, which denotes what belongs to an individual, to a family, to a company or corporation.
Public law, is often synonymous with the law of nations.
PUB'LIC, n. The general body of mankind or of a nation, state or community; the people, indefinitely.
The public is more disposed to censure than to praise.
In this passage, public is followed by a verb in the singular number; but being a noun of multitude, it is more generally followed by a plural verb; the public are.
In public, in open view; before the people at large; not in private or secrecy.
In private grieve, but with a careless scorn,
In public seem to triumph, not to mourn.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: not private; open to or concerning the people as a whole; "the public good"; "public libraries"; "public funds"; "public parks"; "a public scandal"; "public gardens"; "performers and members of royal families are public figures" [ant: private]
2: affecting the people or community as a whole; "community leaders"; "community interests"; "the public welfare" n
1: people in general considered as a whole; "he is a hero in the eyes of the public" [syn: populace, public, world]
2: a body of people sharing some common interest; "the reading public"

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English publique, from Anglo-French, from Latin publicus; akin to Latin populus people Date: 14th century 1. a. exposed to general view ; open b. well-known, prominent c. perceptible, material 2. a. of, relating to, or affecting all the people or the whole area of a nation or state <public law> b. of or relating to a government c. of, relating to, or being in the service of the community or nation 3. a. of or relating to people in general ; universal b. general, popular 4. of or relating to business or community interests as opposed to private affairs ; social 5. devoted to the general or national welfare ; humanitarian 6. a. accessible to or shared by all members of the community b. capitalized in shares that can be freely traded on the open market — often used with go 7. supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by income from commercials <public radio> <public television> • publicness noun II. noun Date: 15th century 1. a place accessible or visible to the public — usually used in the phrase in public 2. the people as a whole ; populace 3. a group of people having common interests or characteristics; specifically the group at which a particular activity or enterprise aims

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 of or concerning the people as a whole (a public holiday; the public interest). 2 open to or shared by all the people (public baths; public library; public meeting). 3 done or existing openly (made his views public; a public protest). 4 a (of a service, funds, etc.) provided by or concerning local or central government (public money; public records; public expenditure). b (of a person) in government (had a distinguished public career). 5 well-known; famous (a public institution). 6 Brit. of, for, or acting for, a university (public examination). --n. 1 (as sing. or pl.) the community in general, or members of the community. 2 a section of the community having a particular interest or in some special connection (the reading public; my public demands my loyalty). 3 Brit. colloq. a = public bar. b = public house. Phrases and idioms: go public become a public company. in public openly, publicly. in the public domain belonging to the public as a whole, esp. not subject to copyright. in the public eye famous or notorious. public act an act of legislation affecting the public as a whole. public-address system loudspeakers, microphones, amplifiers, etc., used in addressing large audiences. public bar Brit. the least expensive bar in a public house. public bill a bill of legislation affecting the public as a whole. public company Brit. a company that sells shares to all buyers on the open market. public enemy a notorious wanted criminal. public figure a famous person. public health the provision of adequate sanitation, drainage, etc. by government. public house 1 Brit. an inn providing alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. 2 an inn. public law 1 the law of relations between individuals and the State. 2 = public act. public lending right the right of authors to payment when their books etc. are lent by public libraries. public libel a published libel. public nuisance 1 an illegal act against the public generally. 2 colloq. an obnoxious person. public opinion views, esp. moral, prevalent among the general public. public ownership the State ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange. public prosecutor a law officer conducting criminal proceedings on behalf of the State or in the public interest. Public Record Office an institution keeping official archives, esp. birth, marriage, and death certificates, for public inspection. public relations the professional maintenance of a favourable public image, esp. by a company, famous person, etc. public relations officer a person employed by a company etc. to promote a favourable public image. public school 1 Brit. a private fee-paying secondary school, esp. for boarders. 2 US, Austral., & Sc. etc. any non-fee-paying school. public sector that part of an economy, industry, etc., that is controlled by the State. public servant a State official. public spirit a willingness to engage in community action. public-spirited having a public spirit. public-spiritedly in a public-spirited manner. public-spiritedness the quality of being public-spirited. public transport buses, trains, etc., charging set fares and running on fixed routes, esp. when State-owned. public utility an organization supplying water, gas, etc. to the community. public works building operations etc. done by or for the State on behalf of the community. public wrong an offence against society as a whole. Derivatives: publicly adv. Etymology: ME f. OF public or L publicus f. pubes adult

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Public Pub"lic, n. 1. 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. The public is more disposed to censure than to praise. --Addison. 2. A public house; an inn. [Scot.] --Sir W. Scott. In public, openly; before an audience or the people at large; not in private or secrecy. ``We are to speak in public.'' --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Public Pub"lic, a. [L. publicus, poblicus, fr. populus people: cf. F. public. See People.] 1. 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. To the public good Private respects must yield. --Milton. He [Alexander Hamilton] touched the dead corpse of the public credit, and it sprung upon its feet. --D. Webster. 2. Open to the knowledge or view of all; general; common; notorious; as, public report; public scandal. Joseph, . . . not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. --Matt. i. 19. 3. Open to common or general use; as, a public road; a public house. ``The public street.'' --Shak. Public act or statute (Law), an act or statute affecting matters of public concern. Of such statutes the courts take judicial notice. Public credit. See under Credit. Public funds. See Fund, 3. Public house, an inn, or house of entertainment. Public law. (a) See International law, under International. (b) A public act or statute. Public nuisance. (Law) See under Nuisance. Public orator. (Eng. Universities) See Orator, 3. Public stores, military and naval stores, equipments, etc. Public works, all fixed works built by civil engineers for public use, as railways, docks, canals, etc.; but strictly, military and civil engineering works constructed at the public cost.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. You can refer to people in general, or to all the people in a particular country or community, as the public. Lauderdale House is now open to the public... Pure alcohol is not for sale to the general public... Trade unions are regarding the poll as a test of the public's confidence in the government. N-SING-COLL: the N 2. You can refer to a set of people in a country who share a common interest, activity, or characteristic as a particular kind of public. Market research showed that 93% of the viewing public wanted a hit film channel. N-SING-COLL: supp N 3. Public means relating to all the people in a country or community. The President is attempting to drum up public support for his economic program. ADJ: ADJ n 4. Public means relating to the government or state, or things that are done for the people by the state. The social services account for a substantial part of public spending. = government, state ADJ: ADJ n • publicly ...publicly funded legal services. ADV: ADV -ed 5. Public buildings and services are provided for everyone to use. The new museum must be accessible by public transport. ...a public health service available to all. ? private ADJ: ADJ n 6. A public place is one where people can go about freely and where you can easily be seen and heard. ...the heavily congested public areas of international airports... I avoid working in places which are too public. ? private ADJ 7. If someone is a public figure or in public life, many people know who they are because they are often mentioned in newspapers and on television. I'd like to see more women in public life, especially Parliament. ADJ: ADJ n 8. Public is used to describe statements, actions, and events that are made or done in such a way that any member of the public can see them or be aware of them. The National Heritage Committee has conducted a public inquiry to find the answer... The comments were the ministry's first detailed public statement on the subject... ADJ: ADJ n • publicly He never spoke publicly about the affair... ADV: usu ADV with v 9. If a fact is made public or becomes public, it becomes known to everyone rather than being kept secret. Blair wants any new evidence on IRA pub bombs made public... ADJ: v-link ADJ 10. If someone is in the public eye, many people know who they are, because they are famous or because they are often mentioned on television or in the newspapers. One expects people in the public eye to conduct their personal lives with a certain decorum... PHRASE: prep PHR 11. If a company goes public, it starts selling its shares on the stock exchange. (BUSINESS) In 1951 AC went public, having achieved an average annual profit of more than £50,000. PHRASE: V inflects 12. If you say or do something in public, you say or do it when a group of people are present. By-laws are to make it illegal to smoke in public. PHRASE: PHR after v 13. to wash your dirty linen in public: see dirty

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Of the whole not private, national, common, general. 2. Open, notorious, general, common. 3. Common, general. II. n. [Preceded by The.] Persons, men, society, the people, the community, the world, general body of mankind.

Moby Thesaurus

Babbittish, Everyman, John Doe, Philistine, Public, accessible, acknowledged, adherent, admitted, affirmed, alehouse, announced, apparent, appendage, associated, attendant, audience, available, bar, barrel house, barroom, beer garden, beer parlor, bistro, blatant, blind tiger, boardinghouse, body politic, bourgeois, bourgeoisie, broadcast, brought to notice, buff, business, buyers, cabaret, cafe, campy, carriage trade, catholic, cavaliere servente, celebrated, circulated, citizenry, citizens, civic, civil, clear, clear-cut, clientage, clientele, cocktail lounge, collective, collectivistic, common, common knowledge, common man, common property, commonalty, commonly known, commonplace, commonwealth, communal, communistic, community, community at large, commutual, conjoint, conjunct, conspicuous, constituency, consumers, cooperative, cortical, cosmopolitan, courtier, cultural community, current, custom, dangler, declared, demos, dependent, diffused, disciple, disreputable, disseminated, distributed, dive, dorm, dormitory, doss house, dramshop, drinking saloon, dwellers, eminent, epidermic, estate, everybody, everyman, everyone, everywoman, exomorphic, exposed, exterior, external, extrinsic, familiar, famous, fan, flagrant, fleabag, flophouse, flunky, folk, folks, follower, followers, following, free, fringe, general, general public, gentry, gin mill, government, governmental, groggery, grogshop, guest house, habitancy, hackneyed, hanger-on, henchman, high-camp, hoi polloi, homely, homespun, homme de cour, honky-tonk, hospice, hostel, hostelry, hotel, household, illustrious, in circulation, in common, in print, in public, in the open, infamous, influential, inhabitants, inn, international, joint, kitschy, known, linguistic community, local, lodging house, low-camp, made public, make public, manifest, market, masses, men, middle class, multitude, municipal, mutual, nation, national, nationality, nightclub, notable, noted, notorious, obvious, open, openly, ordinary, out, outer, outermost, outlying, outmost, outside, outstanding, outward, outward-facing, overt, parasite, partisan, patent, patronage, pension, people, people at large, people in general, peripheral, persons, plain, platitudinous, plebeian, plebeians, polity, pop, populace, popular, population, portion, posada, pothouse, proclaimed, projected, proletariat, prominent, propagated, proverbial, pub, public house, publicly, publish, published, purchasing public, pursuer, pursuivant, rank and file, rathskeller, reciprocal, renowned, reported, roadhouse, rooming house, roundabout, rumshop, rural market, saloon, saloon bar, satellite, sectary, sector, seeming, segment, shadow, shared, social, socialistic, societal, society, speakeasy, special-interest group, speech community, spread, state, stated, stooge, suburban market, successor, suite, superficial, supporter, supranational, surface, tagtail, tail, talked-about, talked-of, taproom, tavern, telecast, televised, the citizenry, the general public, the people, the populace, the population, the public, third estate, trade, trainbearer, trite, truistic, unconcealed, universal, universally admitted, universally recognized, unrestricted, unshrouded, urban, vernacular, viewable, visible, votary, ward heeler, well-kenned, well-known, well-recognized, well-understood, whole people, widely known, widespread, wine shop, world, worldwide, you and me, youth market