public Hear it!

public definition

pub·lic (pub′lik)

adjective

  1. of, belonging to, or concerning the people as a whole; of or by the community at large the public welfare, a public outcry
  2. for the use or benefit of all; esp., supported by government funds a public park
  3. as regards community, rather than private, affairs
  4. acting in an official capacity on behalf of the people as a whole a public prosecutor
  5. known by, or open to the knowledge of, all or most people to make information public, a public figure
  6. Finance owned by shareholders whose shares can be freely traded, as on an exchange a public company

Etymology: ME < L publicus: altered (prob. infl. by pubes, adult) < poplicus, contr. of populicus, public < populus, the people

noun

  1. the people as a whole; community at large
  2. a specific part of the people; those people considered together because of some common interest or purpose the reading public
public Idioms

go public

  1. to become a publicly owned company by issuing shares for sale to the public
  2. to reveal something previously kept private or secret to the public

in public

openly; not in private or in secrecy

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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