personal
♦♦ per|son|al /p'ɜːrsənəl/
1 [ADJ] ADJ n
A personal opinion, quality, or thing belongs or relates to one particular person rather than to other people.
He learned this lesson the hard way-from his own personal experience...
That's my personal opinion.
...books, furniture, and other personal belongings...
...an estimated personal fortune of almost seventy million dollars.
2 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
If you give something your personal care or attention, you deal with it yourself rather than letting someone else deal with it.
...a business that requires a great deal of personal contact.
...a personal letter from the President's secretary...
3 [ADJ]
Personal matters relate to your feelings, relationships, and health.
...teaching young people about marriage and personal relationships...
You never allow personal problems to affect your performance...
4 [ADJ]
Personal comments refer to someone's appearance or character in an offensive way.
Newspapers resorted to personal abuse...
5 [ADJ] ADJ n
Personal care involves looking after your body and appearance.
...men who take as much trouble over personal hygiene as women.
6 [ADJ]
A personal relationship is one that is not connected with your job or public life.
He was a personal friend whom I've known for many many years...
7
see also personalsper|son|al as|sis|tant (personal assistants)
[N-COUNT]
A personal assistant is a person who does office work and administrative work for someone. The abbreviation PA is also used. (BUSINESS)per|son|al best (personal bests)
[N-COUNT] usu sing
A sports player's personal best is the highest score or fastest time that they have ever achieved.
She ran a personal best of 13.01 sec.per|son|al col|umn (personal columns)
[N-COUNT]
The personal column in a newspaper or magazine contains messages for individual people and advertisements of a private nature. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use personals)per|son|al com|put|er (personal computers)
[N-COUNT]
A personal computer is a computer that is used by one person at a time in a business, a school, or at home. The abbreviation PC is also used.per|son|al digi|tal as|sis|tant (personal digital assistants)
[N-COUNT]
A personal digital assistant is a hand-held computer, used mainly for storing and accessing personal information such as addresses, telephone numbers, and memos. The abbreviation PDA is also used.per|son|al or|gan|iz|er (personal organizers)
in BRIT, also use personal organiser
[N-COUNT]
A personal organizer is a book containing personal or business information, which you can add pages to or remove pages from to keep the information up to date. Small computers with a similar function are also called personal organizers.per|son|al pro|noun (personal pronouns)
[N-COUNT]
A personal pronoun is a pronoun such as `I', `you', `she', or `they' which is used to refer to the speaker or the person spoken to, or to a person or thing whose identity is clear, usually because they have already been mentioned.per|son|al space
1 [N-UNCOUNT] oft poss N
If someone invades your personal space, they stand or lean too close to you, so that you feel uncomfortable.
2 [N-UNCOUNT] oft poss N
If you need your personal space, you need time on your own, with the freedom to do something that you want to do or to think about something.
Self-confidence means being relaxed enough to allow your lover their personal space.per|son|al ste|reo (personal stereos)
[N-COUNT]
A personal stereo is a small cassette or CD player with very light headphones, which people carry round so that they can listen to music while doing something else.
= Walkman
1 [ADJ] ADJ n
A personal opinion, quality, or thing belongs or relates to one particular person rather than to other people.
He learned this lesson the hard way-from his own personal experience...
That's my personal opinion.
...books, furniture, and other personal belongings...
...an estimated personal fortune of almost seventy million dollars.
2 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
If you give something your personal care or attention, you deal with it yourself rather than letting someone else deal with it.
...a business that requires a great deal of personal contact.
...a personal letter from the President's secretary...
3 [ADJ]
Personal matters relate to your feelings, relationships, and health.
...teaching young people about marriage and personal relationships...
You never allow personal problems to affect your performance...
4 [ADJ]
Personal comments refer to someone's appearance or character in an offensive way.
Newspapers resorted to personal abuse...
5 [ADJ] ADJ n
Personal care involves looking after your body and appearance.
...men who take as much trouble over personal hygiene as women.
6 [ADJ]
A personal relationship is one that is not connected with your job or public life.
He was a personal friend whom I've known for many many years...
7
see also personalsper|son|al as|sis|tant (personal assistants)
[N-COUNT]
A personal assistant is a person who does office work and administrative work for someone. The abbreviation PA is also used. (BUSINESS)per|son|al best (personal bests)
[N-COUNT] usu sing
A sports player's personal best is the highest score or fastest time that they have ever achieved.
She ran a personal best of 13.01 sec.per|son|al col|umn (personal columns)
[N-COUNT]
The personal column in a newspaper or magazine contains messages for individual people and advertisements of a private nature. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use personals)per|son|al com|put|er (personal computers)
[N-COUNT]
A personal computer is a computer that is used by one person at a time in a business, a school, or at home. The abbreviation PC is also used.per|son|al digi|tal as|sis|tant (personal digital assistants)
[N-COUNT]
A personal digital assistant is a hand-held computer, used mainly for storing and accessing personal information such as addresses, telephone numbers, and memos. The abbreviation PDA is also used.per|son|al or|gan|iz|er (personal organizers)
in BRIT, also use personal organiser
[N-COUNT]
A personal organizer is a book containing personal or business information, which you can add pages to or remove pages from to keep the information up to date. Small computers with a similar function are also called personal organizers.per|son|al pro|noun (personal pronouns)
[N-COUNT]
A personal pronoun is a pronoun such as `I', `you', `she', or `they' which is used to refer to the speaker or the person spoken to, or to a person or thing whose identity is clear, usually because they have already been mentioned.per|son|al space
1 [N-UNCOUNT] oft poss N
If someone invades your personal space, they stand or lean too close to you, so that you feel uncomfortable.
2 [N-UNCOUNT] oft poss N
If you need your personal space, you need time on your own, with the freedom to do something that you want to do or to think about something.
Self-confidence means being relaxed enough to allow your lover their personal space.per|son|al ste|reo (personal stereos)
[N-COUNT]
A personal stereo is a small cassette or CD player with very light headphones, which people carry round so that they can listen to music while doing something else.
= Walkman