private company

American  

noun

British.

1. a company whose shareholders may not exceed 50 in number and whose shares may not be offered for public subscription.

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private company British  

noun

1. a limited company that does not issue shares for public subscription and whose owners do not enjoy an unrestricted right to transfer their shareholdings Compare public company

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Etymology

Origin of private company

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

private company

But this isn’t any private company, and it’s not just any information that’s being sold.

From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026

Situational also still holds its private company investments, which include bets on AI giant Anthropic, some of the people familiar with the matter said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

This was just about stealing test answers from a private company, Yampolskiy said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

The cheaper option is by unenrolled deed poll, which a person can do by themselves or through a private company for a fee.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Moody’s, once a private company, had gone public in 2000.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis