capitalism

[kap-i-tl-iz-uhm]

noun

1. an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.

capitalism

/ ˈkæpɪtəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. Also called: free enterprise.  private enterprise. an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange, characterized by the freedom of capitalists to operate or manage their property for profit in competitive conditions Compare socialism

capitalism

1. An economic and political system characterized by a free market for goods and services and private control of production and consumption. (Compare socialism and communism.)

Other Word Forms

• anticapitalism noun
• procapitalism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of capitalism¹

First recorded in 1850–55; capital ¹ + -ism

Example Sentences

Regularly, economic crises were said to cause Americans to “question free-market capitalism” or “the American dream”—qualms that seemed to be the exhibition’s own.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The fact that they have illustrates much of what is wrong with American capitalism, and what has made it unbeatable for 250 years.

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AI stocks could represent the best of free-market capitalism: an innovative idea, supported by private investment that ultimately delivers corporate profits and economies of scale, and rewards those who bet on it.

Read more on Barron's

None of us is exempt from being pushed to our limits by capitalism’s heartlessness.

Read more on Salon

“The Long Heat” details what might occur if capitalism based on fossil fuels cannot be overturned, in three sections with bleak views on adaptation, emissions and geo-engineering.

Read more on Los Angeles Times