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# public

«public» in Mova's school dictionary: **for everyone to use or see, not private: a public park, a…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (public); noun (the public, uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Public means for everyone to use or see, not private: a public park, a public toilet. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/public/#m1)

2) The public means ordinary people in general. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/public/#m2)

3) Public means done in front of other people: public speaking. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/public/#m3)

4) Public can mean run or paid for by the government: a public school, public transport. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/public/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life and safety: in public places (shops, buses, parks) stay with your adult and agree on a meeting point if you get lost; do not share private information in public online posts. In civics: public services include libraries, hospitals and police. Phrases: in public, public transport, public library, the general public, make public.

### examples

- The public library is free for everyone. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/public/#x1)
- We took public transport to the city. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/public/#x2)
- Do not pick your nose in public! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/public/#x3)
- The museum is open to the public on Sundays. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/public/#x4)
- Keep your passwords private, not public. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/public/#x5)
- She is shy about public speaking. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/public/#x6)
- Public toilets are near the car park. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/public/#x7)
- The news was made public on TV. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/public/#x8)
- He took an active part in public affairs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/public/#x9)

### note

Opposite: private. Trap: in the UK a «public school» is an expensive private school, while in the USA, Canada and Australia a «public school» is a free government school. «The public» takes a singular or plural verb.

### In the corpora

- [A charity is an organisation that helps people, animals or the environment, paid for by money the public gives.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/32-bad-news-protests-and-helping-others/16/)
- [Most people accept tax as the price of public services; they argue about how much and what it is spent on.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/33-neighbours-the-council-rules-and-fairness/16/)
- [The others in it may have said nothing in public, and a fair person remembers that.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/44-the-royal-family-in-the-news-a-wedding-a-move-to-america-an-interview-and-a-book/9/)
- [In November 2019 Prince Andrew stepped back from public duties after a BBC interview about his friendship with a man convicted of serious crimes.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/44-the-royal-family-in-the-news-a-wedding-a-move-to-america-an-interview-and-a-book/22/)
- [A public apology is judged by what the person does next; saying sorry in front of millions is hard.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/53-breakfast-and-chat-shows-celebrity-gossip-on-the-sofa/20/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «public» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/public/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.