company

[kuhm-puh-nee]

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noun, plural com·pa·nies.

a number of individuals assembled or associated together; group of people.

a guest or guests: We're having company for dinner.

an assemblage of persons for social purposes.

companionship; fellowship; association: I always enjoy her company.

one's usual companions: I don't like the company he keeps.

society collectively.

a number of persons united or incorporated for joint action, especially for business: a publishing company; a dance company.

(initial capital letter) the members of a firm not specifically named in the firm's title: George Higgins and Company.

Military.

the smallest body of troops, consisting of a headquarters and two or three platoons.
any relatively small group of soldiers.
Army.a basic unit with both tactical and administrative functions.

a unit of firefighters, including their special apparatus: a hook-and-ladder company.

Also called ship's company. a ship's crew, including the officers.

a medieval trade guild.

the Company, Informal. a nation's major intelligence-gathering and espionage organization, as the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

verb (used without object), com·pa·nied, com·pa·ny·ing.

Archaic. to associate.

verb (used with object), com·pa·nied, com·pa·ny·ing.

Archaic. to accompany.

Idioms

keep company,

to associate with; be a friend of.
Informal.to go together, as in courtship: My sister has been keeping company with a young lawyer.

part company,

to cease association or friendship with: We parted company 20 years ago after the argument.
to take a different or opposite view; differ: He parted company with his father on politics.
to separate: We parted company at the airport.

Origin of company

1200–50; Middle English < Anglo-French; Old French compaignie companionship, equivalent to compain (< Late Latin compāniō; see companion¹) + -ie -y³

Related formscom·pa·ny·less, adjectivein·ter·com·pa·ny, adjective

Synonyms for company

1. group, assemblage, body. 3. gathering, crowd. 6. firm, house, corporation.

Synonym study

1. Company, band, party, troop refer to a group of people formally or informally associated. Company is the general word and means any group of people: a company of motorists. Band, used especially of a band of musicians, suggests a relatively small group pursuing the same purpose or sharing a common fate: a concert by a band; a band of survivors. Party, except when used of a political group, usually implies an indefinite and temporary assemblage, as for some common pursuit: a spelunking party. Troop, used specifically of a body of cavalry, usually implies a number of individuals organized as a unit: a troop of cavalry.

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

Examples from the Web for inter-company

Historical Examples of inter-company

Inter-company rivalry had prevented the development of real regimental spirit.
The Old First Massachusetts Coast Artillery in War and Peace
Frederick Morse Cutler
Rank discrimination might be concealed by means of ingeniously framed systems of inter-company accounts.
Railroads: Rates and Regulations
William Z. Ripley
The 26th and 27th were days selected for inter-company reliefs.
The 28th: A Record of War Service in the Australian Imperial Force, 1915-19, Vol. I
Herbert Brayley Collett

British Dictionary definitions for inter-company

company

noun plural -nies

a number of people gathered together; assembly

the fact of being with someone; companionshipI enjoy her company

a social visitor or visitors; guest or guests

a business enterprise

the members of an enterprise not specifically mentioned in the enterprise's titleAbbreviation: Co, co

a group of actors, usually including business and technical personnel

a unit of around 100 troops, usually comprising two or more platoons

the officers and crew of a ship

a unit of Girl Guides

English history a medieval guild

keep company or bear company

to accompany (someone)
(esp of lovers) to associate with each other; spend time together

part company

to end a friendship or association, esp as a result of a quarrel; separate
(foll by with)to leave; go away (from); be separated (from)

verb -nies, -nying or -nied

archaic to keep company or associate (with someone)

Word Origin for company

C13: from Old French compaignie, from compain companion, fellow, from Late Latin compāniō; see companion 1

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 inter-company

company

mid-12c., "large group of people," from Old French compagnie "society, friendship, intimacy; body of soldiers" (12c.), from Late Latin companio (see companion). Meaning "companionship" is from late 13c. Sense of "business association" first recorded 1550s, having earlier been used in reference to trade guilds (c.1300). Meaning "subdivision of an infantry regiment" is from 1580s. Abbreviation co. dates from 1670s.

Idioms and Phrases with inter-company

company

In addition to the idioms beginning with company

company man
company manners

also see:

keep someone company
misery loves company
part company
two's company