business n
1. 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" [syn: concern, business concern, business organization, business organisation]
2. the activity of providing goods and services involving financial and commercial and industrial aspects; "computers are now widely used in business" [syn: commercial enterprise, business enterprise]
3. business concerns collectively; "Government and business could not agree" [syn: business sector]
4. the volume of business activity; "business is good today"; "show me where the business was today"
5. a rightful concern or responsibility; "it's none of your business"; "mind your own business"
6. the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money; "he's not in my line of business" [syn: occupation, job, line of work, line]
7. an immediate objective; "gossip was the main business of the evening"
8. incidental activity performed by an actor for dramatic effect; "his business with the cane was hilarious" [syn: stage business, byplay]
9. customers collectively; "they have an upper class clientele" [syn: clientele, patronage]

Business \Busi"ness\, n.; pl. Businesses. [From Busy.]
1. That which busies one, or that which engages the time, attention, or labor of any one, as his principal concern or interest, whether for a longer or shorter time; constant employment; regular occupation; as, the business of life; business before pleasure. Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? --Luke ii. 49.
2. Any particular occupation or employment engaged in for livelihood or gain, as agriculture, trade, art, or a profession. ``The business of instruction.'' --Prescott.
3. Financial dealings; buying and selling; traffic in general; mercantile transactions. It seldom happens that men of a studious turn acquire any degree of reputation for their knowledge of business. --Bp. Popteus.
4. That which one has to do or should do; special service,

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A business (also known as enterprise or firm) is an organization designed to provide goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, in which most of them are privately owned and formed to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also form not-for-profit or be state-owned. A business owned by more than one individual may be referred to as a company, although that term also has a more precise meaning.

The etymology of "business" relates to the state of being busy either as an individual or society as a whole, doing commercially viable and profitable work. The term "business" has at least three usages, depending on the scope — the singular usage to mean a particular organization; the generalized usage to refer to a particular market sector, "the music business" and compound forms such as agribusiness; and the broadest meaning, which encompasses all activity by the community of suppliers of goods and services. However, the exact definition of business, like much else in the philosophy of business, is a matter of debate and complexity of meanings.

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