enterprising
Americanadjective
-
ready to undertake projects of importance or difficulty, or untried schemes; energetic in carrying out any undertaking.
Business is in need of enterprising young people.
- Synonyms:
- adventurous, resourceful, venturesome, venturous
-
characterized by great imagination or initiative.
an enterprising foreign policy.
adjective
Synonym Usage
See ambitious.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of enterprising
First recorded in 1565–75; enterprise + -ing 2
Explanation
If you are enterprising, you are creative and show initiative. Were you the kid who bought candy before school and sold it during school at a profit? If so, you were an enterprising little one. Though it has the word, enterprise, in it and is often used to describe people who set up businesses to fill a need, enterprising can be used for any kind of display of creative initiative. Kids who decide on their own to build a skate park are enterprising, as is a dance company that is able to perform a piece on a shoestring budget.
Vocabulary lists containing enterprising
"Earth (A Gift Shop)," Vocabulary from the short story
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s a niche manufacturing business that caters to enterprising chefs and restaurateurs who are testing a concept or hitting the road for music festivals, farmers markets or a meal break at offices.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
The oil curse will lay less heavily on its people, as it already has its neighbors—oil-rich governments once typically didn’t need to care whether their subjects were enterprising, productive and educated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Borthwick will draw positives from the performances of wings Noah Caluori and Murley, Ted Hill's energy up front and an enterprising cameo from replacement scrum-half Raffi Quirke.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
“Are our moneyed men less enlightened to their own interest, or less enterprising in the pursuit?,” the future Treasury secretary wrote External link in 1780.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Out of a committee of supremely enterprising and resourceful members, one managed to outshine the rest in the range of activities he assumed.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
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.
