parent company

American  

noun

parent companies plural

1. a corporation or other business enterprise that owns controlling interests in one or more subsidiary companies (distinguished from holding company).

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parent company British  

noun

1. a company that owns more than half the shares of another company

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• parent companies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of parent company

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parent company

Pat Healey, CEO of Valhalla’s parent company, Viking Yacht, said it is working on a 65-foot boat—10 feet longer than its current flagship.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

The Las Vegas company bought it this month after its former parent company, Fat Brands, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

James McAtee and CJ Egan-Riley, both of whom played in the 2020 FA Youth Cup final, were previously targeted by Strasbourg, the French club owned by Chelsea's parent company, BlueCo.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

In June, Google parent company Alphabet announced it would raise up to $80 billion in stock to fund its AI efforts, with Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway committing $10 billion.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

My team and I persuaded Darden Restaurants, the parent company behind chains like Olive Garden and Red Lobster, to make changes to the kinds of food it offered and how it was prepared.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama