private company

American  

noun

British.

1. a company whose shareholders may not exceed 50 in number and whose shares may not be offered for public subscription.

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private company British  

noun

1. a limited company that does not issue shares for public subscription and whose owners do not enjoy an unrestricted right to transfer their shareholdings Compare public company

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Etymology

Origin of private company

First recorded in 1905–10

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

private company

And for military vessels, he said, restrictions limit the market and make the business case to a private company unclear.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

Consequently, according to the White House, “This is a deal with a private company — not the Venezuelan interim government.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Chiltern Railways has been brought into public ownership after 30 years as a private company.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

"Today, the public authorities are quite happy a private company is doing the job, perhaps in their place," said Jacques Goisque, head of the FF3C trade association that represents a thousand independent service stations.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

Moody’s, once a private company, had gone public in 2000.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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