Definition of: public

(pub′lik) adjective
1. Of, pertaining to, or affecting the people at large or the community: distinguished from private or personal.
2. Open to all; maintained by or for the public: public parks; participated in by the people: a public demonstration.
3. For the use of the public; specifically, for hire: a public cab, hall, etc.
4. Done or made in public or without concealment; well-known; open; notorious: a public scandal.
5. Occupying an official or professional position; acting before or for the community: a public speaker. See synonyms under COMMON, GENERAL.
—noun The people collectively, or in general, of a particular locality or nation; also, all those persons who may be grouped together for any given purpose: the church-going public. [<OF <L publicus, alter. of poplicus (through infl. of pubes an adult) <poplus, populus people]