Meaning & use
business entity
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Meaning
nouncountablebusinesslegal
An organization set up to carry on commercial activity, treated by law as a unit that can own property, sign contracts and pay taxes.
Grammar: Usually takes an article: a business entity, several business entities.
Patterns
- form a business entity
- register a business entity
- a business entity such as a corporation
Before she hired staff, Maria registered her bakery as a separate business entity.
A limited company is a business entity distinct from the people who own it.
The bank asked which kind of business entity was applying for the loan.
Word forms
| plural | business entities |
|---|
Common combinations
- form a business entity
- The two founders decided to form a business entity before signing any leases.
- legal business entity
- A legal business entity can be sued in its own name.
- separate business entity
- The accountant explained that the shop must be kept as a separate business entity from the owner's personal finances.
- type of business entity
- Choosing the right type of business entity can lower your tax bill.
- register a business entity
- You must register a business entity with the state before opening a bank account in its name.
Synonyms and how they differ
- company
- Company is the everyday word and suggests a working organization, while business entity stresses the legal structure.
- corporation
- A corporation is only one specific kind of business entity, so it is narrower.
- firm
- Firm is informal and often refers to professional services such as law or accounting, without any legal-structure focus.
- enterprise
- Enterprise emphasizes the activity or venture itself rather than its legal status.
Opposites
Word family
- business noun
- commercial activity or an organization carrying it out
- entity noun
- something that exists as a distinct unit
- businessman noun
- a man who works in business
- businesslike adjective
- efficient and practical in manner
Commonly confused: business entity or entry?
business entity vs entry
Entry means the act of going in or an item in a list; entity means something that exists as a separate unit.
Practice
A freelance designer wants to protect her personal savings, so she decides to set up a separate ______ for her studio.
Choose one answer.
Business entity is the standard term for a legally recognized organization. Business entry is a different phrase (e.g., an item in accounts), and the other options reverse the word order.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “business entity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.