business
/ˈbɪznəs
/noun [mass noun]
1A person’s regular occupation, profession, or trade: experts who typically conduct their business over the Internet...
- He was in Japan, a guest of the Japanese consulate on business in his other profession as writer and journalist.
- Ashraf regularly flew to Pakistan from Glasgow airport on business.
- Zurich surveyed firms to see if they carry out risk assessments of employees before letting them drive on business.
Synonyms
work, line of work, line, occupation, profession, career, employment, job, day job, position, pursuit, vocation, calling, field, sphere, walk of life, trade, craft;
Scottish way;
French métier
informal racket, game
Australian informal grip
archaic employ
1.1An activity that someone is engaged in: what is your business here?...
- Her fortnight in the city passed quickly, a whirl of business and unavoidable social engagements.
- Nor was this the only business in which Bevan engaged in the course of that year.
- It will be up to him to engage in the smoke-and-mirror business of political negotiation at a European level in the next week.
1.2A person’s concern: it’s not my business to interfere the neighbours make it their business to know all about you...
- I know that his personal well-being is none of my business, but somehow it's hard not to worry about Harry.
- It's none of our business to control what the NCC thinks or says about politics.
- I did some other things that were on the list but those are none of your business.
Synonyms
concern, affair, responsibility, province, preserve, duty, function, task, assignment, obligation, problem, worry, lookout
informal funeral, headache, bailiwick
British informal pigeon, baby
1.3Work that has to be done or matters that have to be attended to: government business let’s get down to business...
- This year however she returned to school late due to business she had to attend back home.
- After giving up that business they attended a number of courses lasting from one to three days.
- Balloonist Rick Walczak plans to attend to some unfinished business in the next few weeks.
2Commercial activity: firms who want to do business with Japan the tea business [as modifier]: the business community...
- Then there's Lord Haskin's task force, attempting to reduce the burden of regulation on business.
- He believed it would have an adverse affect on business and trade in the community.
- He believed it would have adverse effect on business and trade in the community.
Synonyms
trade, trading, commerce, buying and selling, dealing, traffic, trafficking, marketing, merchandising, bargaining;
dealings, transactions, negotiations, proceedings
2.1Trade considered in terms of its volume or profitability: how’s business? the banks are continuing to lose business...
- Ahead of the opening of European markets traders were divided over the likely volume of business.
- They are competing in terms of business but will join together when it will help to bring about benefits for retail across the board.
- The bush telegraph has never made so much money; telecomms deregulation has no effect on volume business.
2.2 [count noun] A commercial operation or company: a catering business...
- New Labour prefers to give state money to private businesses to run public services.
- A city is composed of units too, people and houses and businesses and all the rest.
- Several rival operators have put their businesses on the market in the hope of cashing in.
Synonyms
firm, company, concern, enterprise, venture, organization, operation, undertaking, industry, corporation, establishment, house, shop, office, bureau, agency, franchise, practice, partnership, consortium, cooperative, conglomerate, group, combine, syndicate
informal outfit, set-up
3Australian (In Aboriginal English) traditional law and ritual.Ready access to a reliable source of food made the mission a valuable meeting place for traditional business....
- He worked there for about twenty years except for short breaks to carry out tribal business.
- We want the right to perform business and law of significance to our culture.
4 [in singular] informal A situation or series of events, typically a scandalous or discreditable one: maybe something positive will come out of the whole awful business...
- In a word, I have to invite the reader to come in backward upon the whole business.
- She found the whole business of arguing backward and forward about the same detail utterly boring.
- You see I'm no lawyer, but I happen to know that the business of court cases is a process.
Synonyms
affair, matter, thing, issue, case, set of circumstances, circumstance, situation, occasion, experience, event, incident, happening, occurrence, phenomenon, eventuality, episode, interlude, adventure
4.1A difficult matter: what a business!...
- It is true that prediction is a difficult business, especially when it involves the future.
- Agreeing an interview venue with Stella Tennant should be a difficult business.
- Then, as now, serving the Law and your conscience is a difficult business.
5 theatrical slang Actions on stage other than dialogue.What these critics are missing is the stage business that occurs during the dialogue....
- Moreover, it deliberately made use of the modern in its stage business.
- Like Marmite, you either savour this daft stage business or you wish its energy was never let out of the jar.
6 (the business) British informal A very enjoyable or popular person or thing: this brandy is the business...
- Thanks for being on time, in fact thanks for waiting for me as I was late - your valet parking service really is the business if you are in business!
- Like we've said - our Business Premier Class really is The Business.
- This one really is the business for anyone with an entrepreneurial notion, who wants a resource on all aspects of running a business.
7 [count noun] (also busyness) rare A group of ferrets: his goons will go through the ship like a business of ferrets...
- It's a "business of ferrets", according to my coworker, and no comment on whether or not this is kind to businessmen.
- There were currently two ferrets in Herbert's business.
- He was on the Thames headed seaward in company with two ponies and a business of ferrets.
Phrases
any other business
business as usual
do the business
get down to business
go about one's business
have no business
in business
in the business of
like nobody's business
mind one's own business
be none of one's business
send someone about their business
Origin
Old English bisignis 'anxiety' (see busy, -ness); the sense 'state of being busy' was used from Middle English down to the 18th century, but is now differentiated as busyness. The use 'appointed task' dates from late Middle English, and from it all the other current senses have developed.
Old English bisignis meant ‘anxiety’, but the main early sense, which lasted from the Middle Ages down to the 18th century, was ‘the state of being busy’. The modern senses began to develop in the later Middle Ages, and the meanings existed happily in parallel for several hundred years. Then people began to feel that a clear distinction needed to be made between simply being busy and having business to attend to. In the early 19th century this resulted in the form busyness, the exact equivalent of bisignis.