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.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of private company

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

The upcoming IPO -- short for initial public offering, when a private company sells shares to the public for the first time -- could be one of the biggest in history.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

However, Kenvah Solutions, the private company housing the migrants, told the BBC the migrants would only be allowed to stay at their facilities for two weeks and would then be sent to their home countries.

From BBC • May 20, 2026

It’s not always clear whether the SPV can buy the underlying stock in the first place or whether the private company would recognize the transaction underlying the ownership.

From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026

At the time of restructuring, the for-profit subsidiary was already the world’s most valuable private company, worth more than $500 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

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

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis