public trust
11
4.9
- noun
- /ˈpʌblɪk trʌst/
- Formal
:
fideicomiso público
- The recent scandal has severely damaged public trust in government institutions.
- public trust doctrine
- protection of public trust
- application of public trust
Examples
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A grave violation of the public trust has been committed.
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Transparency in decision-making is crucial for maintaining public trust in the organization.
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I betrayed the public trust.
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Political office was not a public trust, but was pursued for private gain.
Academic text (1993) -
With this recognition, the public trust doctrine found a home in American common law.
Academic text (1992) -
Those initiatives are great because they help to rebuild a kind of public trust in people who will have to decide.
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Historically, the public trust doctrine has been applied most often to water rights.
Academic text (1996) -
The purpose of the public trust doctrine is to preserve natural systems.
Academic text (1992) -
This is nothing short of a crisis and the only route out, the only route to restore public trust, is for the Prime Minister to go.
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The National Audubon Society filed its complaint under the public trust doctrine.
Academic text (1996)
Synonyms
1
5.1
A legal arrangement that holds money or property to support charities and public causes, not for private profit
How Broad
2
3.9
- Formal
11
4.9
- Specialized
1
5.1
- Specialized
275
6.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from combining 'public' (for or relating to the general population) with 'trust' (a legal arrangement), i.e. a trust that benefits the public. This follows a regular adjective+noun pattern common across languages and should be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words, though precise legal nuances may require extra knowledge.
Etymology
The term public trust comes from the simple image of someone holding a box or money safe for the whole town—the trust is that they keep it 'for the public', not for themselves. So today it means a legal agreement that keeps property or funds to help many people, like schools, museums, or charities.