Definition

Noun: 1. A person whose behavior causes trouble or annoyance to the community: An individual whose actions are considered offensive or inconvenient to the general public. 2. A condition, activity, or thing that unlawfully interferes with the rights of the community: Something that unreasonably disrupts the health, safety, morals, comfort, or convenience of the public.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The court declared the abandoned factory a public nuisance due to the safety hazards it posed.
  • His constant, loud parties made him a public nuisance to all his neighbors.
  • The city fined the business for creating a public nuisance with its persistent noise and odor.

Advanced Usage

• Legal Term: In law, a "public nuisance" is an act or condition that is illegal because it interferes with the rights of the public. This is distinct from a "private nuisance," which interferes with an individual's use and enjoyment of their land.
  • Blocking a public sidewalk is considered a public nuisance.

Variants and Related Words

• Nuisance (n): A person, thing, or circumstance causing inconvenience or annoyance.
  • The fly was a real nuisance during the picnic.

Synonyms

• Menace
• Pest
• Annoyance
• Bother

Related Idioms

• To be a pain (in the neck): To be very annoying or troublesome (informal).
  • That construction noise is a real pain in the neck.

Noun

1. a nuisance that unreasonably interferes with a right that is common to the general public
   • a public nuisance offends the public at large