From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe private sectorthe private sectorBPRIVATE/NON-GOVERNMENTthe industries and services in a country that are owned and run by private companies, and not by the government → public sector pay increases in the private sector → private sector
Examples from the Corpus
the private sector• Private sector housing is just too expensive for low-income families in the city at the moment.• Increasingly, researchers are seeking funds from the private sector.• The government is now turning to the private sector for alternative ways of dealing with the country's transportation problems. 