What does "public" mean?
Chiefly preceded by the: members of the community or the people in general, regardless of membership of any particular group.
Public
/ˈpʌblɪk/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Chiefly preceded by the: members of the community or the people in general, regardless of membership of any particular group.
- Grammar: public is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: crowd, accessible, accessible, acknowledged.
- Useful contrasts: nonpublic, private, unpublic.
- Usage evidence: Doing math is the only socially acceptable way to masturbate in public.
How to use "public"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "public" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "public" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "public" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "public" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "public" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "crowd" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "public", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Chiefly preceded by the: members of the community or the people in general, regardless of membership of any particular group. countable, uncountable
"Members of the public may not proceed beyond this point."
- 2 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."
- 3 a body of people sharing some common interest wordnet
- 4 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, uncountable
"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 decent man], one of the few fine old specimens of nobility who are still to be found in France; […]"
- 5 people in general considered as a whole wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 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.”). abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, informal, uncountable
"[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."
- 7 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, uncountable
"the cinema-going public"
- 8 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. countable, uncountable
- 9 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, uncountable
- 10 At Harvard University: a penalty imposed on a student involving a grade reduction which is communicated to the student's parents or guardian. US, countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 11 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."
Verb
- 1 To make (something) openly or widely known; to publicize, to publish. archaic, transitive
"[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."
Adjective
- 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."
- 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 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 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."
- 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"
Show 8 more definitions
- 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 Of an object: accessible to the program in general, not only to a class or subclass. broadly, not-comparable
- 8 Pertaining to nations collectively, or to nations regarded as civilized; international, supernational. archaic
"[…] Nicodemus had not affirmed him [Jesus] to be a prophete, but ſayde: whoſoeuer he be, he ought not after our common, or rather publike law, (that is to ſaye, a lawe which indifferently perteyneth to all men of euery ſtate) to be condemned, except his cauſe be knowen before."
- 9 Now chiefly in public spirit and public-spirited: seeking to further the best interests or well-being of the community or nation. archaic
"[T]he ſaid [Joseph] Palumbo vvas reſtrain'd to Saint Lorenzo; but being a popular man, and one knovvn to be a good Patriot, and of a publick ſoul, and a perſon of integrity; there vvere four thouſand of the beſt armed men joyn'd together, to vindicate and free the ſaid Palumbo, […]"
- 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; […]"
- 11 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. UK, historical
"I meruailled, why himſelf [Niccolò Leoniceno] did not practiſe Phiſike of whiche facultee he was a Doctour, and a publique reader: I auaile moche more, ſaieth he, in that I teach all thother Phiſiciãs [physicians]."
- 12 Of or pertaining to the human race as a whole; common, universal. obsolete
"In Iron Clouds conceal'd the Publick Light: / And Impious Mortals fear'd Eternal Night."
- 13 Chiefly in make public: of a work: printed or otherwise published. obsolete
"The firſt of his [Hernán Cortés's] diſpatches has never been made public. It vvas ſent from Vera-Cruz, July 16th, 1519."
Adjective
- 1 affecting the people or community as a whole wordnet
- 2 not private; open to or concerning the people as a whole wordnet
Example
"Doing math is the only socially acceptable way to masturbate in public."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "public"?
Common synonyms include: crowd, accessible, accessible, acknowledged, adherent, administrative.
How do you use "public" in a sentence?
Doing math is the only socially acceptable way to masturbate in public.
How do you pronounce "public"?
Pronounced /ˈpʌblɪk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
The adjective and noun are derived from Late Middle English publik, publike (“(adjective) generally observable, public; relating to the general public or public affairs; (noun) a generally observable place or situation”), from Anglo-Norman public, publik, publique, Middle French public, publique, and Old French public (“(adjective) generally observable, public; relating to the general public; official; (noun) community or its members collectively; nation, state; audience, spectators collectively”) (modern French public, publique (obsolete)); and from their etymon Latin pūblicus (“of or belonging to the community, people, or state; general, public”), an alteration of poplicus (influenced by pūbēs (“adult men; male population”)), from poplus (“community; the people, public; nation, state”) (later populus; from Proto-Italic *poplos (“army”); further origin uncertain, possibly from Etruscan or from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- (“to fill”)) + -icus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’). Related to people, populus, etc. The Middle English word displaced native Old English ceorlfolc and folclic. The verb is derived from the adjective.
Etymology 2
Semantic loan from Russian па́блик (páblik) and Ukrainian па́блік (páblik, “public webpage on a blog or on social media”), both borrowed from English public: see etymology 1.