enterprise

A business firm. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary

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enterprise en‧ter‧prise [ˈentəpraɪz ǁ -ər-] noun

1. [countable] ORGANIZATIONS a company or business:

• Good financial accounts are vital to any enterprise.

• The company started as a family enterprise.

2. [countable] COMMERCE a business activity:

• The two companies plan to establish an enterprise to provide computer services to the telecommunications industry.

3. [uncountable] ECONOMICS business activity considered as a whole, especially in relation to other parts of the economy, society etc:

• economic programmes between government and enterprise

ˌfree ˈenterprise [uncountable] approving ECONOMICS

when people can own capital and organize their businesses in any way they like, without being prevented or controlled by the government:

• Encouragement has been given to individualism, free enterprise and the pursuit of profit.

ˌprivate ˈenterprise

1. [uncountable] ECONOMICS the economic system in which private businesses compete freely with each other:

• laws permitting private enterprise and the establishment of joint stock companies

2. [countable] ORGANIZATIONS a company owned by people or other companies, rather than by the government:

• They are transforming state-owned industries into private enterprises.

ˌpublic ˈenterprise

1. [countable] ORGANIZATIONS a business that is owned and run by the government:

• It's a vast public enterprise employing over 5,000 local government workers.

2. [uncountable] ECONOMICS businesses and companies that are owned and run by the government, considered as a whole:

• He believed in privatization and the dismantling of public enterprise.

4. [uncountable] COMMERCE the ability to think of new activities and ideas and to take risks in business, especially by starting and running new businesses:

• Managers seemed to lack enterprise and initiative.

• an enterprise culture (= an environment in which enterprise is encouraged )

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enterprise UK US /ˈentəpraɪz/ noun

► [C] an organization, a company, or a business: »

a manufacturing/catering/farming enterprise

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a large/small/medium-sized enterprise

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a state/state-owned/multinational enterprise

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a domestic/local/foreign enterprise

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He was responsible for building the pizza company into a billion-dollar enterprise.

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They run a family enterprise in their local town.

enterprise development/management »

The grants are intended to support local small enterprise development.

► [C] a business plan or project, especially one that is difficult or that may fail or lose money: a business/commercial/economic enterprise »

What we always look for in a future business partner is a commitment to the business enterprise and its success.

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a successful/joint enterprise

► [U] business activity in general: boost/encourage/promote enterprise »

The government unveiled a wide range of measures to boost business and enterprise yesterday.

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The enterprise and development committee supports innovation in business.

► [U] the quality or activity of thinking of new ideas and activities in business and making them successful despite the risks involved: »

The prime minister applauded the innovation of private entrepreneurs and said he would like to see similar enterprise in the public sector, too.

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The scheme rewards young people who show initiative and enterprise.

→ See also FREE ENTERPRISE(Cf. ↑free enterprise), PRIVATE ENTERPRISE(Cf. ↑private enterprise), PUBLIC ENTERPRISE(Cf. ↑public enterprise)