public

noun

(countable, uncountable) Chiefly preceded by the: members of the community or the people in general, regardless of membership of any particular group.

(countable) Preceded by a possessive determiner such as my, your, or their: a group of people who support a particular person, especially a performer, a writer, etc.; an audience, a following.

(countable) (often public relations) Often preceded by the and a qualifying word: a particular demographic or group of people, or segment of the population, sharing some common characteristic.

(countable) (sociology) A group of people sharing some common cultural, political, or social interest, but not necessarily having any interactions with each other.

(uncountable) Chiefly in in public: the presence of spectators or people generally; the open.

(non-native speakers' English, neologism) An internet publication.

(countable) (obsolete) Chiefly preceded by the: a collective body of a politically organized nation or state; a body politic, a nation, a state; also, the interest or well-being of such a collective body; the common good.

(countable) (obsolete) (US, university slang) At Harvard University: a penalty imposed on a student involving a grade reduction which is communicated to the student's parents or guardian.

(countable) (informal) Ellipsis of public house or (dated) public bar (“an inn, a pub: the more basic bar in a public house, as contrasted with the lounge bar or saloon bar which has more comfortable seats, personalized service, etc.”).

verb

(transitive, originally Scotland, archaic) To make (something) openly or widely known; to publicize, to publish.

adjective

Able to be known or seen by everyone; happening without concealment; open to general view.

Open to all members of a community, as opposed to only a segment of it; especially, provided by national or local authorities and supported by money from taxes.

(business) Of a company: having shares of stock traded publicly, for example, through a stock market.

Pertaining to the people as a whole, as opposed to a group of people; concerning the whole community or country.

Officially representing the community; carried out or funded by the government or state on behalf of the community, rather than by a private organization.

Pertaining to a person in the capacity in which they deal with other people on a formal or official basis, as opposed to a personal or private capacity; official, professional.

(not comparable, by extension, object-oriented programming) Of an object: accessible to the program in general, not only to a class or subclass.

(archaic) Pertaining to nations collectively, or to nations regarded as civilized; international, supernational.

(archaic) Now chiefly in public spirit and public-spirited: seeking to further the best interests or well-being of the community or nation.

(archaic) Now only in public figure: famous, prominent, well-known.

(UK, education, chiefly historical) In some older universities in the United Kingdom: open or pertaining to the whole university, as opposed to a constituent college or an individual staff member or student.

(obsolete) Of or pertaining to the human race as a whole; common, universal.

(obsolete) Chiefly in make public: of a work: printed or otherwise published.

Roots

publicuspubl- · Latin · of the people

Synonyms for public

populacen publiclyadv governmentaladj municipaladj governmentn audiencen communaladj citizenryn citizensn communityn civicadj

Synonyms & related words for public

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of public — including populace, publicly, governmental, municipal, government, audience. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to public

Explore words related to public — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include publicness, prelect, nonpublic, private, semiprivate, pissoir, exoteric, publicize. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for public

Common synonyms for public include populace, publicly, governmental, municipal, government, audience, communal, citizenry — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does public come from?

The word public breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root publ-, from Latin publicus (“of the people”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.