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.
Military. none Enterprise 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.
U.S. Aerospace. none Enterprise the first space shuttle, used for atmospheric flight and landing tests.
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
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Middle French, noun use of feminine of entrepris (past participle of entreprendre “to undertake”), from Latin inter- inter- + prehēnsus, prēnsus, past participle of prehendere, prēndere “to grasp, seize,” equivalent to pre- pre- + -hendere “to grasp”
Enterprise describes a readiness to act boldly to get something started, like the enterprise it takes to start a charity with only a dream and a few dollars. Another meaning of enterprise is "a business venture," like a frozen yogurt enterprise. It requires a lot of determination, hard work and the steady belief that people will love your yogurt. People will say you show extraordinary enterprise for your willingness to take on such a challenging project, meaning you have initiative and drive.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"AI is accelerating our core business today, powering our next generation of products, and opening the door to entirely new enterprise opportunities," chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Puder has ambitious plans to expand the enterprise, with more schools and related components in real estate, school security, artificial intelligence and school health clinics.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
He is one of more than 1,350 young people who have been supported through an employability and enterprise programme, delivered by four charities across Shropshire.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Sales of the z17, the company’s flagship enterprise mainframe designed for the artificial-intelligence age, fell short of its expectations, in line with the previous investor warning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Oh, it’s a fine and useless enterprise, trying to fix destiny.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Vincent H. Smith is a nonresident senior fellow and the director of agricultural policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Mr. Rowe is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and co-founder of Vertex Partnership Academies in the Bronx.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The report triggered a government probe, but Enterprise Minister Peter Burke said on Friday that "no adverse findings" against the refinery had shown up.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
He cited some name-brand examples: Marriott for hotels, Alaska Airlines, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
“Furthermore,” he says, “any crew member of Star Trek's starship Enterprise who wears a red shirt never appears in another episode. Frankly, I think you’ve made poor choices.”
From "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Additionally, the customer base is expanding from big tech companies to a broader range of enterprises, including financial services firms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Major cities throughout the States have seen crushing drops in Canadian tourism and business it affords to costly enterprises like ski resorts.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
While this makes Kimi K3 efficient to run, the requirement to hold 2.8 trillion parameters in active memory means the model would be difficult for enterprises to run on their own servers, Sen told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
On his first day back in office, US President Donald Trump announced he would increase pressure on Mexico and the cartels, including designating the criminal enterprises terrorist groups.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
They had the essential feature of a Ponzi scheme: To maintain the fiction that they were profitable enterprises, they needed more and more capital to create more and more subprime loans.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
