public corporation

American  

noun

1. a corporation, owned and operated by a government, established for the administration of certain public programs.

2. municipal corporation.

3. a large private corporation with many shares, which are sold to the public or traded on a stock exchange.

---

public corporation British  

noun

1. (in Britain) an organization established to run a nationalized industry or state-owned enterprise. The chairman and board members are appointed by a government minister, and the government has overall control

---

Etymology

Origin of public corporation

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

Holladay-Hollifield began seeking records from Huntsville Hospital, which is overseen by the Health Care Authority of the City of Huntsville, a public corporation, in early 2023.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 9, 2024

Since 2017, they have been recognized as a public corporation everywhere in Germany.

From Reuters • Mar. 10, 2023

Many funds track broad markets and own shares in nearly every public corporation, where they are typically the biggest shareholders.

From New York Times • Mar. 4, 2023

The public corporation added it only knows of one prior case in 2019, and two in 2008 and 2009.

From BBC • Feb. 17, 2023

John Gutfreund had done violence to the Wall Street social order—and got himself dubbed the King of Wall Street—when, in 1981, he’d turned Salomon Brothers from a private partnership into Wall Street’s first public corporation.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis