public enemy number one

• Public Enemy No. 1

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public enemy number one (uncountable)

1. (US, law enforcement, dated) A person who ranks highest on the federal government's prioritized list of wanted criminal fugitives. [from 1930s]
   • 1934 July 22, en, “Dillinger Slain in Chicago”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1:

     John Dillinger, America's Public Enemy No. 1 and the most notorious criminal of recent times, was shot and killed at 10:40 o'clock tonight by Federal agents.

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   • 1946, George Johnston, Skyscrapers in the Mist, page 119:

     "Sure you never heard of him?" he asked incredulously. "Never," I said flatly. "You must have," he argued. "Why Hamilton was a Public Enemy No. 1 at one time."

2. (figurative) A person, organization, or other object considered to be particularly menacing, harmful, or loathsome.
   • 1983 January 17, William Safire, “Essay: The Midterm Crisis”, in The New York Times‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     The fact is that Reaganomics slowed down the breakneck economy and succeeded in defeating public enemy number one, runaway inflation.

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   • 1995 October 12, Peter Victor, “A tale of Flopsy, Mopsy and public enemy No 1”, in The Independent‎^[3], London: Independent News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     The Isle of Man's public enemy number one—the rabbit—can breathe easier today. The price on its head, or tail, was revoked.

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   • 2014 January 27, Deborah Kotz, “Are no-calorie sweeteners safe?”, in Boston Globe‎^[4], archived from the original on 17 October 2016:

     As sugar has become public enemy number one in the battle against obesity, many Americans have fed their sweet tooth with artificially sweetened diet drinks.

   • 2023 March 28, Tiffany Hsu, quoting Carolos Moreno, “He Wanted to Unclog Cities. Now He’s ‘Public Enemy No. 1.’”, in The New York Times‎^[5], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     “I wasn’t a researcher anymore, I was Pol Pot, Stalin, Hitler,” Mr. Moreno said. “I have become, in one week, Public Enemy No. 1.”

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• “public enemy number one”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “public enemy number one”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “public enemy number one”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.