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business definition

busi·ness (biz′nis)

noun

  1. one's work, occupation, or profession
  2. a special task, duty, or function
  3. rightful concern or responsibility no one's business but his own
  4. a matter, affair, activity, etc. the business of packing for a trip
  5. the buying and selling of commodities and services; commerce; trade
  6. a commercial or industrial establishment; store, factory, etc.
  7. the trade or patronage of customers
  8. commercial practice or policy
  9. a bit of action in a drama, as pouring a drink, intended to establish character, take up a pause in dialogue, etc.

Etymology: ME bisinesse < OE bisignes: see busy & -ness

adjective

  1. of or for business
  2. Bridge designating a double intended to penalize one's opponents
business Idioms

do business with

  1. to engage in commerce with
  2. to have dealings with

do one's (or its) business

Slang to defecate

give (or get) the business

☆
Slang to subject (or be subjected) to rough treatment, practical joking, etc.

mean business

Informal to be in earnest

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

business business definition - business

finance business definition - finance

idioms business idiom

business Synonyms

business

modif.

financial, monetary, commercial, trade; see commercial 1.


business

n.

  1. Industry and trade

    commerce, exchange, trade, traffic, barter, industry, venture, commercial enterprise, gainful occupation, buying and selling, negotiation, production and distribution, dealings, affairs, sales, contracts, bargaining, trading, transaction, banking, marketing, merchandising, custom, undertaking, speculation, haggling, market, mercantilism, wholesale and retail, capital and labor, laissez-faire, free enterprise, game*, racket*, wheeling and dealing*.

  2. Occupation

    trade, profession, vocation; see job 1, profession 1, trade 2.

  3. One's proper concerns

    affair, concern, interest; see affair 1.

  4. A commercial enterprise

    firm, company, factory, manufacturer, mill, store, shop, corporation, concern, combine, establishment, enterprise, partnership, institution, house, outfit, market, conglomerate, consortium, syndicate, cartel, trust, monopoly, holding company, mutual company, pool.

    Some large well-known businesses include: Amoco, American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T), Boeing Corporation, Chevron, Chrysler Corporation, Coca-Cola, ConAgra, Dow Chemical, Eastman Kodak, Exxon, Ford Motor Company, General Dynamics, General Electric, General Motors, DuPont, International Business Machines (IBM), Microsoft, Union Carbide, International Telephone and Telegraph (IT & T), Mobil Oil, PepsiCo, Philip Morris, Procter & Gamble, Shell Oil, Sony, Texaco, Xerox.

  5. The business cycle

    market, trade, volume of trade, patronage, upward trend, downward trend; see also sense 1.

business, in this comparison, refers generally to the buying and selling of commodities and services and connotes a profit motive; commerce and trade both refer to the distribution or exchange of commodities, esp. as this involves their transportation, but commerce generally implies such activity on a large scale between cities, countries, etc.; industry refers chiefly to the large-scale manufacture of commodities

do business with

deal with, trade with, patronize, employ; see buy 1, sell 1, treat 1.

get the business*

be mistreated, be abused, be scolded; see endure 2, suffer 1.

give the business*

mistreat, bother, victimize, give a tongue-lashing*; see abuse 1, bother 2, scold.

mean business

be serious, be in earnest, stress, impress; see emphasize, intend 1, resolve 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

business Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • run: He is, however, probably not the first port of call for anyone running a small business.

Preposition: with

  • turnover: Some illustrative situations are as follows: businesses with turnover below $ 50,000 are exempt.

Adjective modifier

  • small: How to raise the profile of your small business Posted July 3, 2006 NB!

Modifies a noun

  • plan: Are you wondering how to write a business plan, where to find finance or how to buy a business?

Noun used with modifier

  • family: The Respondents were told that the Appellant was out, making arrangements to visit Mauritius on urgent family business.
business usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

business quotes

Canada was open for business. And closed for everything else.

-Atwood, Margaret Eleanor

   In civil business;What first? Boldness;What second, and third? Boldness. And yet boldness is a child of ignorance and baseness.

-Bacon, Francis,Viscount St Albans

Men in great place are thrice servants: servants of the sovereign or state, servants of fame, and servants of business.

-Bacon, Francis,Viscount St Albans

business quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"business." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/business>

APA Style

business. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/business

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