Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

personal

 adjective
     
per‧son‧al S1 W1
1 [only before noun] belonging or relating to one particular person, rather than to other people or to people in generalCOLLOCATIONS COLLOCATIONS
somebody's (own) personal view/opinion personal taste/preference personal possessions/property/belongings personal effects (=small possessions, clothing, documents etc) (know something from) personal experience personal qualities take a personal interest (in something) for personal use on a personal level (=used for giving your own opinion, rather than that of an organization etc you represent) personal trainer/bodyguard/assistant (=someone who works for you and only you)
My personal view is that we shouldn't offer him the job.
Style and colour are a matter of personal taste.
She took full personal responsibility for all the arrangements.
When I went to her room all her personal belongings had gone.
After Alan's death, his mother received his personal effects.
I know from personal experience that you can't trust Ralph.
the personal qualities needed to be successful in business
The car is for personal use only.
On a personal level he felt sympathy for them, but he had a job to do.
celebrities with their own personal trainer
2 relating to the private areas of your life:
I don't answer questions about my personal life.
May I ask you a personal question?
the records will include other personal details such as nationality, date of birth and address
He's got a few personal problems at the moment.
The envelope was marked 'Personal and Confidential'.
We're not allowed to make personal phone calls at work.
3 involving rude or upsetting criticism of someone:
It's unprofessional to make such personal remarks.
a bitter personal attack on the president
There's no need to get personal!
(it's) nothing personal (=used to tell someone that you are not criticizing them)
It's nothing personal, I just have to go home now.
4 if you give something your personal care or attention, you deal with it yourself instead of asking someone else to do it:
Small companies can devote more personal attention to each project.
As you get promoted in a firm you lose that personal contact (=meeting and dealing with people yourself).
5

personal friend

someone who you know well, especially a famous or important person
personal friend of
Apparently the director is a personal friend of hers.
6 [only before noun] relating to your body or the way you look:
Grant was always fussy about his personal appearance.
the importance of personal hygiene
7

personal touch

something you do to make something special, or that makes someone feel special:
It's those extra personal touches that make our service better.
8

personal best

the fastest time, most points etc that a sportsman or sportswoman has ever achieved:
I ran 20.51 seconds for a personal best.
9

personal development

improvements in your character and skills
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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