INDEX:
1. for everyone to use
2. owned or paid for by the government
3. when a lot of people can see you or know about what is happening
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ PRIVATE
people in general : ↑ PERSON/PEOPLE
see also
↑ GOVERNMENT
↑ POLITICS
↑ PUBLIC SERVICES
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1. for everyone to use
▷ public /ˈpʌblɪk/ [adjective only before noun]
a public place or public service is one that anyone can use, not one that is only for a particular person or group :
▪ Could you tell me where the public telephones are?
▪ Is this a public beach?
▪ proposals to ban smoking in public places
▪ They’re always telling people to use public transport because there are too many cars on the roads.
▪ You now have to pay to use the public toilets at the station.
2. owned or paid for by the government
▷ public /ˈpʌblɪk/ [adjective only before noun]
public libraries, hospitals etc are provided and paid for by the government, not by private companies :
▪ You can get the information from your local public library
▪ We need to raise taxes to pay for better public healthcare.
public services
▪ garbage collection and other public services
public spending/expenditure
money spent by the government to provide public services
▪ There’s been a big increase in public spending over the past three years.
the public sector
all the industries and services that are owned or paid for by the government
▪ I’ve worked in the public sector all my life, mainly in local government.
▪ public sector employees
publicly owned [adjective]
▪ Thatcher privatized publicly owned industries like electricity and telecommunications.
▷ state /steɪt/ [adjective only before noun]
owned, controlled, or paid for by the government. In the US state usually refers to the government of a particular state, not the national government :
▪ The government has promised increased spending on the the state education system.
▪ China’s state radio station
▪ Britain’s state aid for industry generally falls far short of the sums seen in other countries.
▷ government /ˈgʌv ə mənt, ˈgʌv ə nməntǁˈgʌvərn-/ [adjective only before noun]
provided, paid for, or run by the government :
▪ How much government money is to be poured into this program?
▪ The camps have been attacked several times by government forces.
▪ The industry secretary has just announced a government initiative to address the problem.
▷ federal /ˈfed ə rəl/ [adjective only before noun]
owned or paid for by the national government of the US or a country organized in a similar way :
▪ Federal funding for the project was cut last year
▪ federal agencies
▪ the Federal Bureau of Investigation
federally [adverb]
▪ federally funded programs
▷ nationalize also nationalise British /ˈnæʃ ə nəlaɪz/ [transitive verb]
if a government nationalizes an industry or service, it buys it or takes control of it :
▪ The mines were nationalized by the Labour Party.
▪ Castro speeded up his land reforms and began to nationalize foreign holdings in Cuba.
nationalized/nationalised [adjective only before noun]
▪ The government is trying to sell off as many nationalized industries as it can.
3. when a lot of people can see you or know about what is happening
▷ in public /ɪn ˈpʌblɪk/ [adverb]
if you do something in public, you do it in a place where a lot of people can see or hear you :
▪ Most people feel nervous about speaking in public.
▪ Her husband was always nice to her in public, but treated her badly at home.
appear in public
use this to say that a famous person is seen in public by ordinary people
▪ The Prince has not appeared in public since the announcement of his divorce.
▷ publicly /ˈpʌblɪkli/ [adverb]
if you do or say something publicly, you do or say it so that everyone knows about it, and you do not try to keep it secret :
▪ He was put in prison after publicly criticizing the military government.
▪ They plan to announce their engagement publicly in the New Year.
▷ public /ˈpʌblɪk/ [adjective]
public actions or events happen in a place where everyone can see or hear them :
▪ It is one of the few countries where they still hold public executions.
▪ In a public statement, Jackson and his wife announced their intention to get divorced.
a public place
a place where people can see or hear what you are doing
▪ Jeff was obviously calling from a public place.
▪ Can we go somewhere quieter? This place is a bit public.
▷ openly /ˈəʊpənli/ [adverb]
if you do something openly, you do it in a public place and without being embarrassed or trying to hide what you are doing :
▪ He was the first person to talk openly on TV about having AIDS.
▪ Drugs are sold openly on the city streets.
▷ officially /əˈfɪʃ ə li/ [adverb]
if something is done officially, it is done by someone in authority, and made known to the public :
▪ The changes to borders were officially announced in the European Parliament.
▪ The details of the reforms are to be released officially next month.
▪ thirty square miles of woodland that has been officially designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty