business premise

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A building or piece of land that a company uses for its work.

   Grammar: Usually plural: 'The business premises are being renovated.' Use 'a business premise' only when talking about one single unit.

   Patterns

   • business premises
   • on the business premises
   • move to new business premises

   The company moved its business premises to a larger building near the airport.

   Visitors are not allowed on the business premises without a pass.

   They rent business premises in the city center.

2. 2nouncountableformal

   A statement or idea that a business is based on, especially in a plan or argument.

   Grammar: Less common; here 'premise' means an underlying assumption, not a building.

   Patterns

   • the business premise that ...
   • base a business on a premise

   The whole business premise that customers will pay more for speed turned out to be wrong.

   Their plan rests on a simple business premise: people want convenience.

Word forms

Common combinations

business premises

The insurance covers damage to the business premises.

move business premises

We had to move business premises when the lease ended.

on the premises

There is a small café on the premises for staff.

new business premises

They are looking for new business premises closer to town.

Synonyms and how they differ

property

More general; it can mean any building or land, not just one used for business.

site

Focuses on the physical location, often one used for a particular activity.

facility

Suggests a place built for a specific purpose, such as a factory or sports center.

Word family

premises noun

The plural form used for a building and its land.

premise noun

An idea or statement that you accept as true when making an argument.

Commonly confused: business premise or premise? business premise or promise?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “business premise”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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