private
pri·vate[ˈpʰɹaɪ̯vɪt]adjective, noun, verb
private is spelled P-R-I-V-A-T-E, 2 syllables: pri·vate. The wrong spelling people search most is privte: about 40 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 227 of all searches for the word. Private is an adjective meaning “Belonging or pertaining to an individual person, group of people, or entity that is not the state”.
How many letters and syllables are in private?
| Letters | 7: P-R-I-V-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pri·vate |
| In writing | 155 times per million words; the 657th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, privte, about 40 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell private?
Private is spelled P-R-I-V-A-T-E. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 229 of the searches for private in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is private?
Private appears 155 times per million words in written English, the 657th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce private?
- /ˈpɹaɪ.vɪt/
- /ˈpɹaɪ.vət/
- US [ˈpʰɹaɪ̯vɪt]
Private has 2 syllables, split pri·vate in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-private.wav, En-us-private.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of private
- more private comparative
- most private superlative
- privates plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- privating participle, present
- privated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does private mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Belonging 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.
- 2
Relating to an individual or group of individuals outside of their official roles; often, sensitive or personal.
This book is her private journal.
- 3
Not 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.
- 4
Protected from view or disturbance by others; secluded; not publicly accessible.
Can we go somewhere more private?
- 5
Not in governmental office or employment.
Military secrets should not be entrusted to unreliable private individuals.
- 6
Secretive; reserved.
He is a very private person.
- 7
Not traded by the public.
private equity
- 8
Of a room in a medical facility, not shared with another patient.
noun
- 1
A soldier of the lowest rank in the army.
- 2
A doctor working in privately rather than publicly funded health care.
- 3
The genitals.
- 4
obsoleteA secret message; a personal unofficial communication.
- 5
obsoletePersonal interest; particular business.
- 6
obsoletePrivacy; retirement.
- 7
obsoleteOne not invested with a public office.
- 8
A private lesson.
If you want to learn ballet, consider taking privates.
verb
- 1
To make something hidden from the public (without deleting it permanently).
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of private.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate private?
Wiktionary records 4 abbreviations of private: PVT, Pte, priv, pvt..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Private in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | personnel, personnelle, privé , privée , simple soldat, soldat |
| German | privat , Gemeiner, Schütze, Kanonier, Private |
| Portuguese | pessoal, privado , particular , soldado, soldado raso |
| Spanish | privado , cabo, soldado raso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does private come from?
From Middle English privat(e) (“individual, exclusive, private”), from Latin prīvātus (“bereaved, deprived, set apart from, release”), perfect passive participle of prīvō (“to bereave, deprive, release”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more), from prīvus (“private, one's own, proper”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per; compare prime, prior, pristine. Doublet of privy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).