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free enterprise

American  
[free en-ter-prahyz] / ˈfri ˈɛn tərˌpraɪz /

noun

  1. 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.

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

free enterprise British  

noun

  1. 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
free enterprise Cultural  

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

free enterprise Idioms  

  1. 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.

Other Word Forms

  • free-enterprising adjective

Etymology

Origin of free enterprise

First recorded in 1885–90

Compare meaning

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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.

Mr. Skousen holds a chair in free enterprise at Chapman University.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

This is not the same as free enterprise.

From Salon • Aug. 30, 2025

Mr. Muratov, 61, sits in an office featuring a photograph of Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the leader now reviled by many Russians, who rejected Communism in favor of free speech, free enterprise and open borders.

From New York Times • Aug. 6, 2023

The former prime minister also called for the development of "an economic Nato", which "supports freedom and proper free enterprise".

From BBC • May 17, 2023

But they seemed gratified, as Mayor Don Carter, who was one of those to go big-time belly up, put it, to have taken a “chance in the free enterprise market.”

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

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.