free enterprise

[ free-en-ter-prahyz ]

/ ˈfri ˈɛn tərˌpraɪz /

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noun

an economic and political doctrine holding that a capitalist economy can regulate itself in a freely competitive market through the relationship of supply and demand with a minimum of governmental intervention and regulation.

the practice of free enterprise in an economy, or the right to practice it.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Also called private enterprise.

Origin of free enterprise

First recorded in 1885–90

OTHER WORDS FROM free enterprise

free-en·ter·pris·ing, adjective

Words nearby free enterprise

freedom rider, Freedom Riders, freedwoman, free electron, free energy, free enterprise, free enterpriser, free expansion, free fall, free-fire zone, free flight

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

How to use free enterprise in a sentence

It also reveals that the conservative commitment to free enterprise was never ironclad, long before its current ire against Delta Air Lines, Coca-Cola and Major League Baseball, among others.
Conservatives have long embraced ‘cancel culture’|Lauren Lassabe|April 16, 2021|Washington Post
The group’s efforts illustrate how conservatives’ commitment to free enterprise has always been conditioned upon support for their broader political and cultural agendas.
Conservatives have long embraced ‘cancel culture’|Lauren Lassabe|April 16, 2021|Washington Post
While the hope is that free enterprise can generate innovation, national governments are still liable for whatever space activities a country’s private companies conduct.
China’s surging private space industry is out to challenge the US|Neel Patel|January 21, 2021|MIT Technology Review
This is the way it should be in a competitive, free enterprise system that extolls entrepreneurial risk and job creation.
How a new regulation would let businesses avoid the law by classifying employees as independent contractors|jakemeth|October 31, 2020|Fortune

In other words, the free thinker defending freedom of thought.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Tend to your own garden, to quote the great sage of free speech, Voltaire, and invite people to follow your example.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The simple, awful truth is that free speech has never been particularly popular in America.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Cambodia, with its seemingly free press, is also a haven for foreign journalists.
Cambodia’s Smoke-and-Mirrors Democracy|David Shaftel|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In other words, the free speech exhibited by the folks at Charlie Hebdo was not virtuous—until there was a body count.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
What need to look to right or left when you are swallowing up free mile after mile of dizzying road?
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
It seemed to free her of a responsibility which she had blindly assumed and for which Fate had not fitted her.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
If we can free this State of Yankees, we will accomplish more than your armies down south have.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
The voice of the orator peculiarly should be free from studied effects, and responsive to motive.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
Above all, he was amazed to hear me talk of a mercenary standing army in the midst of peace and among a free people.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift

British Dictionary definitions for free enterprise

free enterprise

noun

an economic system in which commercial organizations compete for profit with little state control

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

Cultural definitions for free enterprise

free enterprise

The freedom of private businesses to operate competitively for profit with minimal governmental regulation.

Other Idioms and Phrases with free enterprise

free enterprise

Also, private enterprise. An undertaking on one's own behalf, especially a shady or illegal one. For example, The city treasurer didn't bother with competitive bids; the spirit of free enterprise just led him to his brother-in-law, or The sergeant indulged in a little private enterprise, selling cigarettes on the black market. This sarcastic application of a term that has meant, since about 1885, the freedom of private businesses to operate competitively for profit with a minimum of government control, dates from the mid-1900s.

free enterprise

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Origin of free enterprise

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Words nearby free enterprise

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How to use free enterprise in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for free enterprise

Cultural definitions for free enterprise

Other Idioms and Phrases with free enterprise