Meaning & use
standalone company
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A business that operates independently and is not owned or controlled by a larger parent company.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a standalone company' or 'two standalone companies'.
Patterns
- a standalone company
- become a standalone company
- operate as a standalone company
After the merger fell through, the firm remained a standalone company.
The startup grew quickly and is now a standalone company with its own board.
They decided to spin off the division as a standalone company.
Word forms
| plural | standalone companies |
|---|
Common combinations
- remain a standalone company
- Despite the buyout offer, the business chose to remain a standalone company.
- operate as a standalone company
- The subsidiary now operates as a standalone company in the European market.
- spin off as a standalone company
- The technology unit was spun off as a standalone company last year.
- a standalone company with its own board
- The new entity is a standalone company with its own board of directors.
Synonyms and how they differ
- independent company
- Similar, but 'independent company' often emphasizes freedom from outside control, while 'standalone company' stresses that it is not part of a larger group.
- stand-alone business
- A close variant; 'stand-alone' is often spelled with a hyphen, especially in British English.
Opposites
Word family
- standalone adjective
- Used to describe something that works on its own without needing other things.
Commonly confused: standalone company or subsidiary?
standalone company vs subsidiary
A subsidiary is owned or controlled by a larger company, while a standalone company is not.
Practice
After the restructuring, the division became a ______ company, no longer part of the parent group.
Choose one answer.
'Standalone' means it operates independently, which fits the context of no longer being part of a parent group. 'Subsidiary' would mean it is still controlled by a larger company, the opposite of what is needed.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “standalone company”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.