cor ‧ po ‧ ra ‧ tion AC /ˌkɔːpəˈreɪʃ ə n $ ˌkɔːr-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ corporation ; adjective : ↑ corporate ]
1 . a big company, or a group of companies acting together as a single organization:
He works for a large American corporation.
multinational corporations
the Siemens Corporation
corporation tax (=tax that companies have to pay on their profits)
2 . an organization or group of organizations that work together for a particular purpose and are officially recognized as one:
the New Orleans Citywide Development Corporation
a housing corporation
3 . British English old use a group of people elected to govern a town or city SYN council
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THESAURUS
▪ company an organization that makes or sells something, or provides a service:
big oil companies
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telephone companies
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He runs a software company.
▪ firm a company, especially one that provides a service rather than producing goods:
a law firm
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a firm of accountants
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a security firm
▪ business a company – often used when talking about a company that employs only a small number of people:
She set up her own catering business.
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small businesses
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a family business
▪ corporation a large company that often includes several smaller companies:
IBM is one of the biggest corporations in the world.
▪ multinational a very large company with offices in many different countries:
American multinationals are establishing research and development facilities across the developing world.
▪ conglomerate /kənˈɡlɒmərət, kənˈɡlɒmərɪt $ -ˈɡlɑː-/ a very large company that consists of several different companies which have joined together:
The company was taken over by a German media conglomerate.
▪ giant a word used mainly by newspapers for a very large company:
Their clients include the retail giant, Wal-Mart.
▪ subsidiary a company that is owned by a larger company:
The company runs its New York operations through a US subsidiary.