Meaning & use
business
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A company or shop that sells goods or services.
Grammar: Plural businesses.
Patterns
- run a business
- start a business
She runs a small business.
Local businesses support the fair.
He started his own business.
noununcountable
The activity of buying and selling to make money.
Grammar: No plural.
Patterns
- do business with someone
- go into business
She works in business.
We do business with Asia.
Business is slow.
noununcountable
A matter that concerns someone personally.
Grammar: In phrases like none of your business.
Patterns
- none of your business
- mind your own business
Her salary is none of my business.
Mind your own business.
noununcountable
Work or duty to be done; matters to be dealt with.
Grammar: As in the business of a meeting.
Patterns
- get down to business
The first item of business is the budget.
Let's get down to business.
nounsingularinformal
A situation or event of a particular kind, often unpleasant.
Grammar: With a: a strange business.
Patterns
- a nasty business
The whole business was upsetting.
It's a sad business.
Word forms
| plural | businesses |
|---|
Common combinations
- small business
- A small business owner.
- on business
- He traveled on business.
- go out of business
- The shop went out of business.
- business plan
- Write a business plan.
Synonyms and how they differ
- company
- A specific organization.
- commerce
- Large-scale trade, more formal.
- trade
- Buying and selling, or a skilled job.
- firm
- A company, often professional.
Opposites
Word family
- businessman noun
- a man who works in business
- businesslike adjective
- efficient and serious
- busy adjective
- related root
Commonly confused: business or busyness?
business vs busyness
Busyness is being busy; business is commerce.
Practice
Her salary is none of your ___.
Choose one answer.
None of your business is the fixed phrase for a personal matter.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “business”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.