The number of prisoners serving life sentences has fallen. He was taken prisoner by rebel soldiers.
pri • va • cy / ' praivasi / noun [ noncount ]
being alone and not watched or disturbed by other people He locked the door so he could have some privacy.
pri . vate Ф / praivot/ adjective
for one person or a small group of people only, and not for anyone else
You shouldn't read his letters — they're private. This is private property .
alone; without other people there
I would like a private meeting with the manager.
not connected with your job
She never talks about her private life at work.
not controlled or paid for by the government a private hospital
private schools in private
alone; without other people there
Can I speak to you in private? —ANTONYM in public
pri • vate • ly / ' praivstli / adverb
Let's go into my office — we can talk more privately there.
priv • i • lege / ' privsiid3 / noun [ count ]
something special that only one person or a few people may do or have
Prisoners who behave well have special privileges.
priv • i • leged / ' privslid3d / adjective
I feel very privileged to be playing for the national team.
prize © / praiz / noun [ count ]
something that you give to the person who wins a game,
race, etc.
I won first prize in the painting competition. Did you win a prize?
prob • a • bil • i • ty / ,prabs ' bilsti / noun [ noncount , singular ]
how likely something is to happen There was little probability of success.
prob .a .ble © / prabsbl / adjective
likely to happen or to be true It is probable that he will be late.
—ANTONYM improbable
РГОЬ .a . Ыу © / 'prabbli/ adverb almost certainly
I will probably see you on Thursday.
prob . lem © / 'prabbm/ noun [ count ]
something that is difficult; something that makes you worry
She has a lot of problems. Her husband is sick and she may lose her job.
There is a problem with my phone — it doesn't work.
a question that you must answer by thinking about it I can't solve this problem .
no problem ( informal )
words you use to say that something is easy and you don't mind doing it
"Can you fix this?" "Sure, no problem."
prob • lem • at • ic / ,prabls ' mretik / adjective
causing a lot of problems, or full of problems
Finding someone to do this work for you could be
problematic.
pro • ce • dure aw / prs ' sid3sr /
[ count, noncount ]
the usual or correct way of doing something
What is the procedure for applying for a student visa?
pro • ceed aw L / prs ' sid ; prou ' sid / verb ( pro - ceeds , pro - ceed - ing , pro - ceed - ed )
( formal )
to continue doing something
We're not sure whether we want to proceed with the sale of the house.
to do something next, after having done something else first
Once he had calmed down, he proceeded to tell us what had happened.
proc . ess © / 'prases / noun [ count ] ( plural proc- ess -es )
a number of actions, one after the other, for doing or making something
He explained the process of building a boat. Learning a language is usually a slow process.
a number of changes that happen in a natural way Trees go through the process of growing and losing leaves every year.
pro • ces • sion / prs ' sejn / noun
[ count ]
