private enterprise

noun

1. free enterprise ( def 1 ).

private enterprise

noun

1. economic activity undertaken by private individuals or organizations under private ownership Compare public enterprise
2. another name for capitalism

private enterprise

1. Business carried on for profit and not owned by the government; also, the system that discourages public ownership of business; the same as free enterprise . ( See private sector .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of private enterprise¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

He suggested that if the US put a base on Mars then "after that's done, the expensive way, private enterprise can say 'well, maybe there is another way to get there that is cheaper'."

From BBC

In 2020, Boyle and California Endowment chief executive Robert Ross co-signed a letter to Metro and the city, opposing the gondola and characterizing it as “a tourist attraction for the benefit of private enterprise.”

From Los Angeles Times

Under China's leader Xi Jinping, there have been crackdowns on private enterprises from tech to private tutoring.

From BBC

This initial economic barrier stops several countries or private enterprises from starting geothermal exploration in the first place, even if, according to Manzella, long-term costs are "comparable or even lower than other renewable technologies."

From National Geographic

In 2020, Ant was forced to call off its potentially record-breaking I.P.O., a stunning move that was widely interpreted as regulators reasserting dominance over private enterprise.

From New York Times