1. (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.

2. (a.) Sequestered from company or observation; appropriated to an individual; secret; secluded; lonely; solitary; as, a private room or apartment; private prayer.

3. (a.) Not invested with, or engaged in, public office or employment; as, a private citizen; private life.

4. (a.) Not publicly known; not open; secret; as, a private negotiation; a private understanding.

5. (a.) Having secret or private knowledge; privy.

6. (n.) A secret message; a personal unofficial communication.

7. (n.) Personal interest; particular business.

8. (n.) Privacy; retirement.

9. (n.) One not invested with a public office.

10. (n.) A common soldier; a soldier below the grade of a noncommissioned officer.

11. (n.) The private parts; the genitals.