Definition

1. Noun:
   • Commercial activity: The activity of buying, selling, or providing goods and services for money.
   • A company or enterprise: An organization or economic system engaged in commercial, industrial, or professional activities.
   • One's occupation or profession: The work a person does to earn a living; a person's regular trade or profession.
   • A matter or affair: A particular situation, event, or series of actions.
   • One's rightful concern or responsibility: Something that is a person's proper area of interest or duty.
   • Serious activity or purpose: The quality of being earnest or having a serious intent.

Examples of Usage

• Commercial activity:
  • She studied business at university.
  • Business has been slow this quarter.
• A company or enterprise:
  • He runs a small catering business.
  • She decided to sell the family business.
• One's occupation or profession:
  • My business is teaching English.
  • What line of business are you in?
• A matter or affair:
  • The whole business was very confusing.
  • Let's settle this business quickly.
• One's rightful concern or responsibility:
  • It's not your business what I do.
  • Mind your own business.
• Serious activity or purpose:
  • When he speaks, you can tell he means business.

Advanced Usage

• "to get down to business": to start dealing with the important matters or tasks.
  • After the introductions, we got down to business.
• "to have no business doing something": to have no right or reason to do something.
  • You have no business reading my private letters.
• "the business end of something": the part of a tool or object that performs its main function, often implying danger or seriousness.
  • Be careful with the business end of that knife.

Variants and Related Words

• Businesslike (adj): efficient, practical, and systematic.
  • She has a very businesslike approach to her work.
• Businessperson (n): a person engaged in commercial or industrial business.
  • He is a successful businessperson.
• Busyness (n): the state of having a great deal to do. (Note: This is a different word from 'business', though it sounds similar).
  • The busyness of the holiday season is exhausting.

Synonyms

• Commerce: the activity of buying and selling, especially on a large scale.
• Trade: the action of buying and selling goods and services.
• Affair: an event or sequence of events of a specified kind or that has previously been referred to.
• Occupation: a job or profession.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Go out of business: to stop operating as a company because of financial failure.
  • Many small shops went out of business during the recession.
• Go about one's business: to do one's normal activities or duties.
  • Despite the noise, the workers went about their business.

Related Idioms

• Business as usual: a situation where everything continues normally, often despite difficulties.
  • After the fire drill, it was business as usual in the office.
• Mean business: to be serious and determined about something.
  • The new manager means business about improving sales.
• Mind your own business: used to tell someone in a rude way that you do not want them to ask about something private.
  • When I asked where he was going, he told me to mind my own business.

Noun

1. incidental activity performed by an actor for dramatic effect
   • his business with the cane was hilarious
2. customers collectively
   • they have an upper class clientele
3. business concerns collectively
   • Government and business could not agree
4. the volume of commercial activity
   • business is good today
   • show me where the business was today
5. an immediate objective
   • gossip was the main business of the evening
6. a rightful concern or responsibility
   • it's none of your business
   • mind your own business
7. the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
   • he's not in my line of business
8. the activity of providing goods and services involving financial and commercial and industrial aspects
   • computers are now widely used in business
9. a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
   • he bought his brother's business
   • a small mom-and-pop business
   • a racially integrated business concern