public

1. 1

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

   • VVith ſcoffes and ſcornes, and contumelious taunts, / In open Market-place produc't they me, / To be a publique ſpectacle to all: / Here, ſayd they, is the Terror of the French, / The Scar-Crovv that affrights our Children ſo.
   • [T]he Apoſtles preached as vvell vvhen they vvrote as vvhen they ſpake the Goſpell of Chriſt, and our vſuall publique reading of the vvord of God for the peoples inſtruction is preaching.
2. 2

   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.

   • public library public park
3. 3

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

4. 4

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

   • [S]tanding publick Records have been kept of theſe vvell atteſted Relations, and Epocha’s made of thoſe unvvonted events.
   • [I]f the nominated be to a place vvherein he is entruſted vvith the management of public moneys, he that nominates is ſurety for him, and is to make good vvhat he defrauds the Common-vvealth of.
5. 5

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

   • public housing public officer public prosecutor public servant
6. 6

   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.

   • public face public image
7. 7

   Of an object: accessible to the program in general, not only to a class or subclass.broadlynot-comparable

8. 8

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

   • [S]uch a one concerns himſelf very needleſsly for almoſt all the publique Quarrels in Chriſtendome, and ſhevvs himſelf zealous for a party vvhich vvill receive no advantage by his diſquiets; […]
9. 9

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

   • Suppoſe I ſhou'd ſtrike firſt, vvou'd it not breed / Grief in your publick heart to ſee her bleed?
   • As thus vve talk'd, / Our hearts vvould burn vvithin us, vvould inhale / That portion of divinity, that ray / Of pureſt heaven, vvhich lights the public ſoul / Of patriots, and of heroes.
10. 10

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

    • I VVas not ſo publick here, as to be very vvell knovvn, at leaſt by any one that had Knovvledge of me in the Country vvhere I liv'd; and this vvas indeed my ſafety aftervvard, as you vvill ſoon hear; […]

ant. nonpublic · private · unpublic

1. 1

   Chiefly preceded by the: members of the community or the people in general, regardless of membership of any particular group.countableuncountable

   • Members of the public may not proceed beyond this point.
2. 2

   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.countableuncountable

   • By dint of drinking acid tiff, as above mentioned, and smoking segars, in which I am no novice, my Public are to be informed, that I gradually drank and smoked myself into a certain degree of acquaintance with un homme comme il faut [a dece
3. 3

   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.”).abbreviationalt-ofcountable

   • [T]hese inconsiderate lads will be out of the house, and away to the publicks, wasting their precious time, and, it may be, missing the morning tide.
   • [I]t is a terrible long and slippery descent, and a shocking bad road. At the bottom, however, there is a pleasant public; whereat we must really take a modest quencher, for the down air is provocative of thirst.
4. 4

   Often preceded by the and a qualifying word: a particular demographic or group of people, or segment of the population, sharing some common characteristic.countableuncountable

   • the cinema-going public
   • the reading public
5. 5

   Often preceded by the and a qualifying word: a particular demographic or group of people, or segment of the population, sharing some common characteristic.; A group of people sharing some common cultural, political, or social interest, but not necessarily having any interactions with each other.countableuncountable

6. 6

   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.countableobsoleteuncountable

7. 7

   At Harvard University: a penalty imposed on a student involving a grade reduction which is communicated to the student's parents or guardian.UScountableobsolete

8. 8

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

   • Come follovv vs, / VVe are to ſpeake in publique: for this buſineſſe / VVill raiſe vs all.
   • [S]he ſcolded me for I believe tvvo hours, on account of having left her, […] But ſhe aſſured me, that if ever I did ſo again, ſhe vvould never more take me into public.

1. 1

   To make (something) openly or widely known; to publicize, to publish.archaictransitive

   • [H]e is such a barefooted rubber with my supersocks pulled over his face which I publicked in my bestback garden for the laetification of siderodromites and to the irony of the stars.

1. 1

   An internet publication.neologism

   • Russian publics report that the fighters of the Wagner group have already practically taken possession of Soledar, there are fights on the outskirts, where the Vushniks are trying to fight back in the salt mines.