From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe publicthe publicSOCIETYordinary people who do not work for the government or have any special position in society The meeting will be open to the general public. Police warned members of the public not to approach the man, who may be armed. On the whole, the public is conservative about education. → public
Examples from the Corpus
members of the public• I feel it is important there should be more contact between police and members of the public.• Its contract is to guarantee that the doctors consulted by members of the public are properly qualified and will give competent treatment.• Shares in the company can be bought on the stock market by members of the public.• Just half a mile from where the plane crashed, members of the public were attending a lambing opening day.• There is considerable sympathy for members of the public who commit some minor infringement under circumstances which are considered justifiable and understandable.• Local commissioners can now accept any complaint from members of the public about maladministration in local government.• They are not bodies against which, through the regulator, members of the public feel that they can secure redress.• A further reminder is the complaints procedure which members of the public can initiate against police officers. 