private enterprise

American  

noun

1. free enterprise.

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private enterprise British  

noun

1. economic activity undertaken by private individuals or organizations under private ownership Compare public enterprise

2. another name for capitalism

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private enterprise Cultural  

1. Business carried on for profit and not owned by the government; also, the system that discourages public ownership of business; the same as free enterprise. (See private sector.)

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Etymology

Origin of private enterprise

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

private enterprise

With the results prior to Monsanto, it seemed like the movement that was supposed to free private enterprise from regulatory overreach was also weakening the shield that regulatory power provided.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026

The reforms set out by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero go much further in promoting private enterprise.

From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026

The script is by David Koepp of the paranoid thriller “Black Bag” and Spielberg’s 2005 version of “War of the Worlds,” yet, this plot strand about private enterprise isn’t science fiction.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

That ecosystem worked because risk‑taking was rewarded, growth was possible, and civic leadership—while imperfect—understood that private enterprise wasn’t the adversary of the public good.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026

In June 1956, in the monthly journal Liberation, I pointed out that the charter endorsed private enterprise and would allow capitalism to flourish among Africans for the first time.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela