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.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of private company

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

private company

OpenAI, an unprofitable private company, plans to lease the project; the $250 billion pledge would help its backers get better terms on the financing necessary to build it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

In April, Poland’s Galaxy Systemy Informatyczne became the first private company to purchase an IQM computer.

From Barron's ● Jun. 21, 2026

A businessman with ties to Chinese military contractors was among the overseas investors who acquired stakes in SpaceX while it was still a private company.

From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026

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

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis