company

[ kuhm-puh-nee ]

See synonyms for: company companied companies companying on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural com·pa·nies.

a number of individuals assembled or associated together; group of people.
a guest or guests: We're having company for dinner.

an assemblage of persons for social purposes.
companionship; fellowship; association: I always enjoy her company.
one's usual companions: I don't like the company he keeps.
society collectively.
a number of persons united or incorporated for joint action, especially for business: a publishing company;a dance company.
(initial capital letter) the members of a firm not specifically named in the firm's title: George Higgins and Company.
Military.
- the smallest body of troops, consisting of a headquarters and two or three platoons.
- any relatively small group of soldiers.
- Army. a basic unit with both tactical and administrative functions.
a unit of firefighters, including their special apparatus: a hook-and-ladder company.
Also called ship's company. a ship's crew, including the officers.
a medieval trade guild.
the Company, Informal. a nation's major intelligence-gathering and espionage organization, as the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

verb (used without object),com·pa·nied, com·pa·ny·ing.

Archaic. to associate.

verb (used with object),com·pa·nied, com·pa·ny·ing.

Archaic. to accompany.

Idioms about company

keep company,
- to associate with; be a friend of.
- Informal. to go together, as in courtship: My sister has been keeping company with a young lawyer.
part company,
- to cease association or friendship with: We parted company 20 years ago after the argument.
- to take a different or opposite view; differ: He parted company with his father on politics.
- to separate: We parted company at the airport.

Origin of company

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English, from Anglo-French; Old French compaignie “companionship,” equivalent to compain (from Late Latin compāniō; see companion¹) + -ie -y³

synonym study For company

1. Company, band, party, troop refer to a group of people formally or informally associated. Company is the general word and means any group of people: a company of motorists. Band, used especially of a band of musicians, suggests a relatively small group pursuing the same purpose or sharing a common fate: a concert by a band; a band of survivors. Party, except when used of a political group, usually implies an indefinite and temporary assemblage, as for some common pursuit: a spelunking party. Troop, used specifically of a body of cavalry, usually implies a number of individuals organized as a unit: a troop of cavalry.

Other words for company

1	group, assemblage, body
3	gathering, crowd
6	firm, house, corporation

See synonyms for company on Thesaurus.com

Other words from company

com·pa·ny·less, adjective
in·ter·com·pa·ny, adjective

Words Nearby company

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use company in a sentence

By the time it was over, the company was worth over $80 billion.
Breaking down why Snowflake's massive IPO stood out from the stock market froth | Dan Primack | September 17, 2020 | Axios
If you want to manage a big company, you probably need to spend the whole of your time managing a big company.
Christian Puglisi Is Closing His Influential Copenhagen Restaurants. COVID Is Only Partly to Blame | Rafael Tonon | September 17, 2020 | Eater
The entertainment company will join a growing number of employers giving workers the option to do the same, including Old Navy and Patagonia.
Trump contradicts CDC director on vaccine; Biden says Americans shouldn’t trust Trump | Colby Itkowitz, Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner | September 16, 2020 | Washington Post
Facebook also removed a number of accounts as part of what the company said is an ongoing investigation.
Pro-Trump youth group enlists teens in secretive campaign likened to a ‘troll farm,’ prompting rebuke by Facebook and Twitter | Isaac Stanley-Becker | September 15, 2020 | Washington Post
BuzzFeed currently has in the neighborhood of 100 active brand licensing deals and is expecting that the sales from this business will be up by more than 40% year over year, according to a company spokesperson.
‘Finding their sweet spot’: How publishers are quickly becoming large global licensors | Kayleigh Barber | September 14, 2020 | Digiday

Through his company, consumers will be able to cheaply make custom DNA strands, including what Heinz calls “creatures.”
Design Your Own Dinosaur: The Era of Custom DNA | Justin Jones | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
“The cyber attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment was not just an attack against a company and its employees,” he said.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead | Luke O’Neil | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Tinder and OkCupid are both owned by IAC, the parent company of The Daily Beast.
My Week on Jewish Tinder | Emily Shire | January 5, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Reprinted by arrangement with The Penguin Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House company.
Thank Congress, Not LBJ for Great Society | Julian Zelizer, Scott Porch | January 4, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
They were the machine gun bullets coming from the ambush when my company got hit.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
As company after company appeared, we were able to form a pretty exact estimate of their numbers.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV. | Various
No, Sir, said the other, nothing at all except the enjoyment of your good company: and so gave over importuning him.
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801) | Daniel Defoe
I assured him I was well refreshed with his good entertainment and company, and as much in my senses as ever I was in my life.
Gulliver's Travels | Jonathan Swift
One Turkish company, about a hundred strong, was making an ugly push within rifle shot of our ship.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian Hamilton
With this company he had rendered valiant service in the campaign which ended with the battle of Pea Ridge.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. Dunn

British Dictionary definitions for company

company

/ (ˈkʌmpənɪ) /

nounplural -nies

a number of people gathered together; assembly
the fact of being with someone; companionship: I enjoy her company

a social visitor or visitors; guest or guests
a business enterprise
the members of an enterprise not specifically mentioned in the enterprise's title: Abbreviation: Co, co
a group of actors, usually including business and technical personnel
a unit of around 100 troops, usually comprising two or more platoons
the officers and crew of a ship
a unit of Girl Guides
English history a medieval guild
keep company or bear company
- to accompany (someone)
- (esp of lovers) to associate with each other; spend time together
part company
- to end a friendship or association, esp as a result of a quarrel; separate
- (foll by with) to leave; go away (from); be separated (from)

verb-nies, -nying or -nied

archaic to keep company or associate (with someone)

Origin of company

C13: from Old French compaignie, from compain companion, fellow, from Late Latin compāniō; see companion 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with company

company

In addition to the idioms beginning with company

company man
company manners

also see:

keep someone company
misery loves company
part company
two's company

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