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public

public

∞ 1.0
Open or available to everyone, not private
  • adjective
  • /ˈpʌblɪk/
: público
  • The public transportation system serves the entire metropolitan area, making it easy for everyone to travel.
  • public health
  • public school
  • public domain

The third trigger to public policy is self help.

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Examples

  • I call to order the first public meeting of the TRRC.

  • The achieved steps per day did not meet public health goals of 10,000 steps per day.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Now we see this on a public scale all the time.

  • I go to public school in New York City.

  • Historical analysis has an important place in public policy making and can sometimes bring people together.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Another study by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy found a similar result.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Sign up for a workshop at a nearby college, public library, or community center.

    Academic text (2011)
  • You sure you're really ready for that public facing role you asked me about?

  • Ladies and gentlemen, unaccustomed as I am to public speaking--

  • And, of course, she is a big supporter of the public library's summer reading program.

    Academic text (2011)

Antonyms

∞ 1.8

For one person or group only and not open to others

149 3.9

Limited so only certain people can see or use it

Idioms

404 1.0

Other people can see or hear you

Seen and talked about by many people

To talk about private, embarrassing things in front of other people

Compounds

420 1.0

A school that is free to attend and paid for by local taxes

public health
  • Specialized
182 2.8

The health of a community that government and hospitals watch and support

public law
  • Specialized
173 4.6

Rules about how the government deals with people and society

165 2.4

The views most people in a society have about an issue

Work to help a company or person look good to the public

Help the government gives to people, like schools or hospitals

public record
  • Formal
68 3.0

An official document a government must keep and let people read

A place where anyone can borrow books and use services for free

59 3.8

A lawyer who represents people who cannot pay for one in criminal cases

58 1.4

Services like buses or trains that anyone can use in a city, usually for a small fee

public office
  • Formal
53 3.2

A government job with power and duty to serve the people

Work for the government to help people

53 4.0

Being watched or noticed by many people

50 3.5

A person who is well known to many people, for example a celebrity or politician

A person who works for the government, elected or appointed

43 2.5

Protection for people from crime and danger in public places

41 2.2

Homes the government owns and runs for people with low incomes

38 2.4

Roads, schools, and bridges that the government builds and keeps for people to use

public domain
  • Specialized
30 3.7

Things anyone can use or copy for free

Property owned by the government that people can use

A survey that asks a group of people who represent the public about their views on an issue

20 4.4

The public's opinion about a person or issue formed outside a legal trial

19 1.9

A system of buses and trains that people use to travel

To speak to a group of people to inform, persuade, or entertain

18 2.5

Money the government gives to people who need help to pay basic living costs

public utility
  • Specialized
18 3.2

An organization that provides essential services like water or electricity and is regulated by the government

Facts that anyone can find out

15 4.1

A government official who brings criminal charges in court for the state

public debate
  • Literature
15 3.0

A discussion among many people and the media about an issue in newspapers, TV, and online

public trust
  • Formal
13 4.9

A legal plan that holds money and property to help many people, for example a school or museum

public debt
  • Specialized
13 3.9

All the money a government has borrowed

public debate
  • Formal
12 3.6

A formal event where people argue for or against a proposal and then vote

An open talk where many people share views about things that affect everyone

11 1.0

A toilet people can use in public places like parks or stations

A person who gives speeches to an audience in public

public square
  • Texting
9 4.0

An online place where people meet to discuss public issues and share ideas

9 1.0

A room with toilets and sinks that anyone can use in public places

7 5.3

The first time a company sells shares to the public on the stock market

7 5.7

Something that harms or annoys many people in an area

A matter that affects many people in a community

An official who watches people sign documents, checks the signatures, and confirms they are valid for legal use

An open area in a town or city where people meet and events happen

5 1.4

A day when offices and shops are closed by law for most people

5 4.1

Money that the government keeps and the office that holds and pays it

A planned set of actions to make people view a company or person more positively

Making something known to many people so they can see or talk about it

4 6.4

Being naked where other people can see you

Someone who manages how an organization looks to the public and talks to the media

A system with microphones and speakers that makes announcements loud in public places

An ordinary person who represents the public

3 3.9

An accountant who passed exams and got a state license to work professionally in the United States

A scholar or writer who shares ideas and arguments with the public

3 2.0

A building where people drink alcohol and eat simple meals

An organized service of buses or trains that people use to travel

A talk on a subject that anyone can attend

2 3.4

A group that mainly gets money from many people to help others

Joe Public
  • Literature
2 6.3

A typical person who represents what most people think

A person who manages how people see a company and talks to the press

1 3.8

Authorities protect people in public places to stop crime and disorder

1 2.9

A company that supplies water, electricity, or gas and is run under government rules

public press
  • Literature
1 3.2

Newspapers and magazines that gather and publish news for the public

Violent acts by a crowd in a public place that cause disorder

public easement
  • Specialized
1 7.2

A right that lets everyone use land as a street or path

1 5.7

A private secondary school in Britain attended by children from wealthy families

A legal promise that a person charged with a crime gets a quick, public court hearing by a jury

A toilet in a public place that anyone can use

A university degree for people who lead public health programs and make health policy

A well-known person who writes or speaks about important public issues

A large amount of attention and worry from many people about an event or issue

A toilet in a public place that anyone can use

1 9.0

An official who carries out death sentences in front of people

public property
  • Specialized
1 4.3

Data in a class that other code can read or change

1 4.4

A company that provides essential services like water or electricity and must follow government rules

How Public

universal
312 4.2
public
∞ 1.0
open
600 1.0
restricted
149 3.9
private
∞ 1.8

Surface Forms

public positive

Etymology

Public comes from the old root popul- meaning 'people', so as an adjective public describes something 'for the people' or 'open to everyone'.