business
Meanings
- A specific commercial enterprise or establishment.
- A person's occupation, work, or trade.
- Commercial, industrial, or professional activity.
- The volume or amount of commercial trade.
- One's dealings; patronage.
- Private commercial interests taken collectively.
- The management of commercial enterprises, or the study of such management.
- A particular situation or activity.
- Any activity or objective needing to be dealt with; especially, one of a financial or legal matter.
- Something involving one personally.
- Matters that come before a body for deliberation or action.
- Business class, the class of seating provided by airlines between first class and coach.
- Of, to, pertaining to, or used for purposes of conducting trade, commerce, governance, advocacy or other professional purposes.
- Professional, businesslike, having concern for good business practice.
- Supporting business, conducive to the conduct of business.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *bisīg Old English bisiġ Proto-Germanic *-in- Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti Proto-Germanic *-ōną Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Old English bisiġnes Middle English bisynes English business From Middle English busines, busynes, businesse, bisynes, from Old English bisiġnes (“business, busyness”), equivalent to busy + -ness. Doublet of busyness. Sense 17 (something very good, top quality), possibly derives from "the bee's knees"