Meaning & use
entity
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Meanings
nouncountable
Something that exists as a distinct, separate unit.
Grammar: Countable: a separate entity.
Patterns
- a separate entity
- an entity of something
The cell is a living entity.
Each country is an independent entity.
The idea became an entity of its own.
nouncountablebusinesslegal
An organization such as a company that is treated as a single unit in law or business.
Grammar: Business and legal usage.
Patterns
- legal entity
The firm is a separate legal entity from its owners.
The foundation is a nonprofit entity.
Each business entity must file taxes.
nouncountable
A being or presence, often unknown or supernatural.
Grammar: Often used for mysterious beings.
The film features a strange entity from space.
Some say an entity haunts the house.
The scientists detected a mysterious entity.
Word forms
| plural | entities |
|---|
Common combinations
- legal entity
- A company is a legal entity.
- separate entity
- The branch operates as a separate entity.
- business entity
- The business entity pays its own taxes.
- independent entity
- The state is an independent entity.
- living entity
- A virus is debated as a living entity.
Synonyms and how they differ
- being
- Being usually refers to something alive, while entity can be any distinct thing.
- body
- Body is used for organized groups like a governing body.
- organization
- Organization suggests people working together, while entity is broader.
- thing
- Thing is casual and vague, while entity sounds formal and precise.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: entity or identity?
entity vs identity
Identity is who or what something is; entity is the thing itself.
Practice
Why might a company be called a separate legal entity?
Choose one answer.
A legal entity is treated as its own unit. The other options are false.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “entity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.