parent company

American  

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of parent company

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

Shares of the Knicks’ parent company, Madison Square Garden Sports, have more than doubled in value over the past year—and reached a record high during the NBA Finals.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

Meta, which is the parent company of Facebook, said it would "review any groups or posts shared with us and remove content which violates our rules".

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026

The past year—which included parent company Paramount’s controversial merger with Skydance Media, and the installment of Bari Weiss as CBS News’ editor in chief—has been one of the rockiest in 60 Minutes’ decadeslong history.

From Slate • Jun. 5, 2026

Google parent company Alphabet said this week it was going to raise $80 billion through equity sales to fund its capital expenditures for 2026 and 2027.

From Barron's • Jun. 2, 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