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

Investors seeking exposure to Anthropic have several strategies to consider, including proposed leveraged ETFs once it’s public and funds with an allocation to the currently private company.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

Germany is also home to the only private company that has sent a rocket into orbit from continental Europe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 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

"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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