enterprise
noun
a project undertaken or to be undertaken, especially one that is important or difficult or that requires boldness or energy.
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Enterprise
Enterprisenouna city in southern Alabama.
enterprise
1 American
[en-ter-prahyz]
/ ˈɛn tərˌpraɪz /
noun
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enterprises
plural
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a project undertaken or to be undertaken, especially one that is important or difficult or that requires boldness or energy.
To keep the peace is a difficult enterprise.
- Synonyms:
- venture, undertaking, plan
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a plan for such a project.
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participation or engagement in such projects.
Our country was formed by the enterprise of resolute men and women.
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boldness or readiness in undertaking; adventurous spirit; ingenuity.
- Synonyms:
- ambition, push, aggressiveness, drive
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a company organized for commercial purposes; business firm.
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Military. none Enterprise the first nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier, commissioned in 1961, with a displacement of 89,000 tons (80,723 metric tons) and eight reactors.
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U.S. Aerospace. none Enterprise the first space shuttle, used for atmospheric flight and landing tests.
adjective
Enterprise
2
American
[en-ter-prahyz]
/ ˈɛn tərˌpraɪz /
noun
enterprise
British
/ ˈɛntəˌpraɪz /
noun
-
a project or undertaking, esp one that requires boldness or effort
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participation in such projects
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readiness to embark on new ventures; boldness and energy
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initiative in business
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( as modifier )
the enterprise culture
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a business unit; a company or firm
enterprise
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of enterprise
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Middle French, noun use of feminine of entrepris (past participle of entreprendre “to undertake”), from Latin inter- inter- + prehēnsus, prēnsus, past participle of prehendere, prēndere “to grasp, seize,” equivalent to pre- pre- + -hendere “to grasp”
Explanation
Enterprise describes a readiness to act boldly to get something started, like the enterprise it takes to start a charity with only a dream and a few dollars. Another meaning of enterprise is "a business venture," like a frozen yogurt enterprise. It requires a lot of determination, hard work and the steady belief that people will love your yogurt. People will say you show extraordinary enterprise for your willingness to take on such a challenging project, meaning you have initiative and drive.
Vocabulary lists containing enterprise
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 1
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act III
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Beam Me Up: Talking About Star Trek
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Connor Palfrey, 25 from Abertridwr, Georgie Mears, 19, from Thornhill, Cardiff, Elexi Manny, 25 from Senghenydd, Caerphilly, and Ricardo Elliot, 27 of no fixed address, all deny murder through joint enterprise.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Government-sponsored enterprise Fannie Mae also guarantees mortgages for lower-income households with as little as 3% down, though borrowers generally must pay higher interest rates and insurance premiums.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
It views an enterprise value-to-Ebita multiple of 5x as highly appealing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
At a time when innovation and enterprise have never been so abundant, the companies that grow the most and the fastest still tend to outperform, according to James.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
The discovery of America in 1492. created a new enterprise that intellectuals could engage in: the discovery of new knowledge.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
It comes over a year after Syngenta was awarded £2.2m from Scottish Enterprise to expand production at the site.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Whitesides co-founded nonprofit organization Megafire Action to advocate for policy solutions to prevent massive wildfires and served as a member of the Antelope Valley Economic Development and Growth Enterprise board of directors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Dr. Shaywitz is chief medical scientist at Lore Health, a lecturer in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at Harvard Medical School, and an adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
Axon Enterprise stock falls after the Taser maker unveils its plans to raise $1 billion in debt.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Like something had gone wrong beaming her onto the Starship Enterprise.
From "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell
OpenRouter says data largely represents spending by AI-native startups as well as some older tech companies and large enterprises.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
"The cyber defence capabilities will enable enterprises and governments to defend themselves against threat actors that are jailbreaking closed models to perform cyberattacks," Mistral's Chief Scientist Guillaume Lample said in the statement.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
He wrote that Microsoft’s Autopilot AI agent is the one “most enterprises will actually deploy.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
He has reached out to Gen Z with various programmes that offer grants and loans to small business and youth-led enterprises, technology hubs and digital work opportunities.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Bacteria are the greatest of all at setting up joint enterprises, on which the lives of their hosts are totally dependent.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
