BUSINESS


Meaning of BUSINESS in English

busi ‧ ness S1 W1 /ˈbɪznəs, ˈbɪznɪs/ BrE AmE noun

[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: busy ]

1 . BUYING OR SELLING GOODS OR SERVICES [uncountable] the activity of making money by producing or buying and selling goods, or providing services:

Students on the course learn about all aspects of business.

Carl began in the music business by running a recording studio.

We do business with a number of Italian companies.

He has a wide range of business interests.

2 . COMPANY [countable] an organization such as a company, shop, or factory that produces or sells goods or provides a service:

She now has her own $25 million home-shopping business.

They don’t know how to run a business.

The company began as a small family business.

3 . HOW MUCH WORK A COMPANY HAS [uncountable] the amount of work a company does or the amount of money it makes:

We’re now doing twice as much business as we did last year.

Exports account for 72% of overall business.

business is good/bad/slow etc

Business is slow during the summer.

drum up business (=try to get more work for you or your company)

Perot was in Europe, drumming up business for his new investment company.

4 . FOR YOUR JOB [uncountable] work that you do as part of your job:

She’s in New York this week on business (=for her work) .

Hi Maggie! Is this phone call business or pleasure?

business trip/meeting etc

We discussed the idea over a business lunch.

useful business contacts

5 . WHAT SOMEONE SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN [uncountable]

a) if something is not your business or none of your business, you should not be involved in it or ask about it:

It was not her business, she decided, to ask where the money came from.

It’s none of your business how much I weigh.

‘Who’s that girl you were with?’ ‘Mind your own business (=Don’t ask questions about something that does not concern you) !’

‘Are you going out with Kate tonight?’ ‘That’s my business’ (=it doesn’t concern you, so don’t ask me questions about it) .

b) if it is someone’s business to do something, it is their duty or responsibility to do it

it is the business of somebody to do something

It is the business of government to listen to the various groups within society.

6 . THINGS TO BE DEALT WITH [uncountable] things that need to be done or discussed:

Okay, let’s get down to business (=start doing or discussing something) .

‘Is there any other business?’ the chairman asked.

7 . MATTER [singular] a situation or activity, especially one that you have a particular opinion about or attitude towards

a serious/strange/funny etc business

Leon regards keeping fit as a serious business.

Tanya found the whole business ridiculous.

8 . be in business

a) to be involved in business activities:

The company has been in business for over 30 years.

b) spoken to have all that you need to start doing something:

I’ve just got to buy the paint and then we’re in business.

9 . (go) out of business if a company goes out of business, or something puts it out of business, it stops operating, especially because of financial problems:

Higher interest rates will drive small firms out of business.

10 . be back in business to be working or operating in a normal way again:

The band are back in business after a long break.

11 . somebody was (just) minding their own business spoken used to say that someone was not doing anything unusual or wrong at the time when something unfair or bad happened to them:

I was driving along, minding my own business, when the police stopped my car.

12 . go about your business to do the things that you normally do:

The street was full of ordinary people going about their business.

13 . make it your business to do something to make a special effort to do something:

Ruth made it her business to get to know the customers.

14 . mean business informal to be serious about doing something even if it involves harming someone:

The border is guarded by troops who mean business.

15 . unfinished business something you need to discuss further with someone or a situation that has not yet reached a satisfactory solution:

The sudden death of a loved one can often leave the bereaved with an agonising sense of unfinished business.

16 . business is business spoken used to say that profit is the most important thing to consider:

We can’t afford to employ someone who isn’t good at the job – business is business.

17 . business as usual when someone or something is still working or operating normally when you think they might not be:

Despite last night’s scare, it was business as usual in the White House today.

18 . have no business doing something/have no business to do something to do something you should not be doing:

He was drunk and had no business driving.

19 . not be in the business of doing something to not be intending to do something because you think it is a bad idea:

I’m not in the business of selling my best players.

20 . and all that business spoken informal and other things of the same general kind:

She handles the publicity and all that business.

21 . (it’s) the business British English informal used to say that something is very good or works well:

Have you seen David’s new car? It’s the business!

22 . do the business British English informal

a) to do what you are expected to do or what people want you to do:

Come on, then, and do the business.

b) to have sex

⇨ ↑ big business , ⇨ funny business at ↑ funny (3), ⇨ like nobody’s business at ↑ nobody 1 (2), ⇨ monkey business at ↑ monkey 1 (3), ⇨ ↑ show business

• • •

COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)

■ verbs

▪ do business

A lot of firms are keen to do business in Japan.

▪ conduct business formal (=do business)

It is not a sensible way to conduct business.

▪ go into business (=start working in business)

A lot of university graduates want to go into business.

▪ set up/start up in business

The bank gave me a loan to help me set up in business.

▪ stay in business (=continue operating and not become bankrupt)

Some stores are finding it hard to stay in business.

▪ go out of business (=stop doing business because of financial problems)

In a recession smaller firms often go out of business.

■ NOUN + business

▪ the music/entertainment/computer etc business

He started out working in the computer business.

■ business + NOUN

▪ a business deal (=an occasion when you buy or sell something)

Negotiation is the most important part of a business deal.

▪ business activities

His wife refused to get involved in his business activities.

▪ business interests (=business activities, or shares in companies)

Both companies have substantial business interests in Indonesia.

▪ the business community (=people who work in business)

There was pressure on the government from the business community.

▪ the business world

You need to be flexible in today’s highly competitive business world.

▪ business studies (=a course of study about business)

She did business studies at college.

■ COMMON ERRORS

► Do not say ' make business '. Say do business .

• • •

COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)

■ verbs

▪ have/own a business

Nick owned a software business in Boston.

▪ run a business (=manage it)

There’s plenty of advice available on how to run your own business.

▪ start/set up a business

When you’re starting a business, you have to work longer hours.

▪ take over a business (=buy it or start running it)

When my father retired, I took over the business.

▪ build (up)/develop a business

He spent years trying to build a business in Antigua.

▪ establish a business

She overcame many financial difficulties to establish her business.

▪ a business succeeds

Making a business succeed is not simple.

▪ a business collapses/fails (=stops operating)

35% of small businesses fail in the first year of operation.

■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + business

▪ a small business (=that employs only a few people)

Many small businesses have been badly hit by the recession.

▪ a medium-sized business

They offer services to small and medium-sized businesses.

▪ a software/catering/construction etc business

His girlfriend runs a catering business.

▪ a family business (=owned and controlled by one family)

For many years the hotel was a family business.

▪ an import/export business

Kingwell had an export business in New Zealand.

▪ a successful/profitable/thriving business

Within a few years she had established a thriving business in London.

▪ a viable business (=one that is likely to be successful)

It soon became clear that the restaurant was not a viable business.

■ business + NOUN

▪ a business partner (=someone who shares a business with you)

Margie was his wife and also his business partner.

▪ a business manager

We need to take on a business manager to deal with some of the admin.

▪ a business customer/client

We’re providing our business customers with reliable, proven Internet technology.

• • •

THESAURUS

▪ business the activity of making money by producing, buying, or selling goods, or providing services:

Business in Europe has been badly affected by economic conditions in the US.

|

He works in the advertising business.

▪ trade the buying and selling of goods and services, especially between countries:

Trade between European countries became easier after the introduction of the Euro.

|

a trade agreement

▪ commerce the buying and selling of goods and services. Commerce is more formal than business , and is used when talking about business activities in general:

One of the roles of the federal government is to regulate commerce.

|

London became a great centre of commerce.

|

the local chamber of commerce (=an organization which the companies and shops in an area belong to)

▪ e-commerce the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet:

E-commerce is a fast-growing part of the US economy.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.