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Definition
A keyword: an important word to learn public1   Show phonetics
adjective
1 public awareness/health/support, etc the awareness/health/support, etc of all ordinary people
Public opinion has turned against him.
Is it really in the public interest (= useful for people) to publish this information?

2 public parks/toilets/transport, etc parks/toilets/transport, etc that are for everyone to use and are not private
Smoking should be banned in public places.

3 a public announcement/appearance/statement, etc an announcement/appearance/statement, etc that can be seen or heard or known by everyone
The Prime Minister is due to make a public statement later today.

4 make sth public to allow everyone to know about something
The government does not plan to make its findings public.

5 public funds/services/spending, etc funds/services/spending, etc controlled or supplied by the government and not by a private company

The first and last word in dictionaries