joint-stock company
noun
: a company or association consisting of individuals organized to conduct a business for gain and having a joint stock of capital represented by shares owned individually by the members and transferable without the consent of the group
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The very land on which Congress now sits was first colonized by theVirginia Company of London, a joint-stock company chartered by King James I and his fellow shareholders. 
Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, The New Republic, 3 Apr. 2020 In the 18th century the joint-stock company created bubbles, before going on to make large-scale business possible in the 19th century. The Economist, 3 Oct. 2019 All major companies owned by the central government, excluding financial and cultural firms, will be transformed into limited-liability or joint-stock companies by Dec. 31, according to a plan released by the State Council, or cabinet. WSJ, 26 July 2017
Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, The New Republic, 3 Apr. 2020 In the 18th century the joint-stock company created bubbles, before going on to make large-scale business possible in the 19th century. The Economist, 3 Oct. 2019 All major companies owned by the central government, excluding financial and cultural firms, will be transformed into limited-liability or joint-stock companies by Dec. 31, according to a plan released by the State Council, or cabinet. WSJ, 26 July 2017 Word History
First Known Use
1776, in the meaning defined above
Legal Definition
joint-stock company
see company