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

We are just as disappointed and angry as you are about predatory capitalism, which leaves many Americans homeless and many more without access to health care.

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Everything just has this tinge of capitalism on it, without any actual substance to it in a lot of ways.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“I really like how the game portrays Russian soldiers as saviors from the new colonial power of Western capitalism,” said Timofei Roslyakov from Chelyabinsk, Russia, who played “African Dawn” recently.

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Dimon’s place at the helm of Wall Street’s signature bank, and his informal status as capitalism’s voice of reason, mean media outlets from around the world ask him a lot of questions.

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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 The Wall Street Journal