enterprise

[en-ter-prahyz]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR enterprise ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

a plan for such a project.

participation or engagement in such projects: Our country was formed by the enterprise of resolute men and women.

boldness or readiness in undertaking; adventurous spirit; ingenuity.

a company organized for commercial purposes; business firm.

(initial capital letter) Military. 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.

(initial capital letter, italics) U.S. Aerospace. the first space shuttle, used for atmospheric flight and landing tests.

Origin of enterprise

1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French, noun use of feminine of entrepris (past participle of entreprendre to undertake) < Latin inter- inter- + prēnsus grasped, seized, contraction of prehēnsus, equivalent to pre- pre- + hend- take hold of + -tus past participle suffix

Related formsen·ter·prise·less, adjective

Synonyms for enterprise

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR enterprise ON THESAURUS.COM

1. plan, undertaking, venture. 4. drive, aggressiveness, push, ambition.

Enterprise

[en-ter-prahyz]

noun

a city in S Alabama.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for enterprise

firm, business, company, trade, project, program, venture, activity, operation, industry, resource, essay, affair, stake, campaign, flier, house, move, crusade, proposition

Examples from the Web for enterprise

Contemporary Examples of enterprise

Yes, the gun: “While this gives a moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise, and independence to the mind.”
Forget the Resolutions; Try a Few Declarations
Kevin Bleyer
January 1, 2015
This, of course, is why the enterprise is called natural science.
2014: Revenge of the Creationists
Karl W. Giberson
December 27, 2014
As Mitchell was looking to expand his enterprise in the mid-2000s, he ran into a roadblock.
At This Creepy Libertarian Charter School, Kids Must Swear ‘to Be Obedient to Those in Authority’
ProPublica
October 15, 2014
But Broadcasting & Cable reported that last year, it was a $55 million enterprise.
How TMZ Claims Its Celebrity Scalps, Like Ray Rice
Lloyd Grove
September 10, 2014
After a fruitful year (earning $81 total) he expanded his enterprise.
The Ghost Hotels of the Catskills
Brandon Presser
August 25, 2014

Historical Examples of enterprise

The real purpose of the enterprise is indicated in the last clause.
Stories from Thucydides
H. L. Havell
Montacute undertook the enterprise on the 19th of October, 1330.
Cameos from English History, from Rollo to Edward II
Charlotte Mary Yonge
If he failed in one enterprise he would start off on another.
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine
Young Vail applied to his father, who was a man of enterprise and intelligence.
Heroes of the Telegraph
J. Munro
Magua had now attained one great object of all his cunning and enterprise.
The Last of the Mohicans
James Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for enterprise

enterprise

noun

a project or undertaking, esp one that requires boldness or effort

participation in such projects

readiness to embark on new ventures; boldness and energy

initiative in business
(as modifier)the enterprise culture

a business unit; a company or firm

Derived Formsenterpriser, noun

Word Origin for enterprise

C15: from Old French entreprise (n), from entreprendre from entre- between (from Latin: inter-) + prendre to take, from Latin prehendere to grasp

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

Word Origin and History for enterprise

early 15c., "an undertaking," from Old French enterprise "an undertaking," noun use of fem. past participle of entreprendre "undertake, take in hand," from entre- "between" (see entre-) + prendre "to take," contraction of prehendere (see prehensile). Abstract sense of "readiness to undertake challenges, spirit of daring" is from late 15c.

Idioms and Phrases with enterprise

enterprise

see free enterprise.