public

pub|lic1 [ `pʌblık ] adjective usually before noun ***

1. ) available for people in general to use:

public transportation

a public library

the city's attractive public spaces

─ opposite PRIVATE

a ) involving a lot of people or involving people in general:

There has been a public outcry about her imprisonment.

The proposal has a lot of public support.

a public nuisance/hazard

b ) used about something that anyone is allowed to watch, listen to, or take part in:

a public meeting/inquiry/hearing

2. ) owned by the government, not by a private company:

The damage was restored using public money.

public organizations

─ opposite PRIVATE

3. ) relating to the part of your life that people in general know about, for example your work, rather than your life at home:

She keeps her public and private lives very separate.

a ) used about things that most people know about because they are not private or secret:

a very public display of unity

make something public (=tell everyone about it): the decision to make the results public

b ) used about places and situations where other people might see or hear you:

Can we go somewhere a little less public?

go public

1. ) to tell the newspapers or people in general about something that has been secret or private:

We argued a long time before deciding to go public with the story.

2. ) if a private company goes public, it becomes a public corporation by selling STOCK to people

in/out of the public eye

well known/not well known to people in general:

Her job keeps her in the public eye.

They insist on keeping their children out of the public eye.

public

pub|lic 2 [ `pʌblık ] noun ***

the public people in general:

The house was opened to the public in the 1950s.

The public wants tougher sentences for violent crimes.

The regulations should be written in plain English that the public understands.

the general public: Misconceptions about mental illness are common among the general public.

a member of the public: The police should be trained to deal politely with members of the public.

a. people of a particular type:

the British/American etc. public: It is clear that the attack did not have the support of the American public.

the traveling/book-buying etc. public: The decision to add more flights at the airport was not in the best interests of the traveling public.

in public

if you do something in public, people in general hear about it or see it:

It's unprofessional to criticize your colleagues in public.

─ opposite IN PRIVATE

someone's public

the people who watch a particular performer, read books by a particular writer, etc.