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public company

American  

noun

British.
  1. a company that has more than 50 shareholders and whose shares are offered for public subscription.


public company British  

noun

  1. a limited company whose shares may be purchased by the public and traded freely on the open market and whose share capital is not less than a statutory minimum; public limited company Compare private company

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

public company Cultural  
  1. A company that sells shares in itself to the public to raise capital. When a previously privately owned company offers shares, it is said to “go public.”


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Krispy Kreme’s second stint as a public company hasn’t gone very well.

From MarketWatch

The first stint ended in July 2016, when Krispy Kreme was acquired by JAB Beech to end about a 16-year run as a public company.

From MarketWatch

Krispy Kreme’s second stint as a public company hasn’t gone very well.

From MarketWatch

The first stint ended in July 2016, when Krispy Kreme was acquired by JAB Beech to end about a 16-year run as a public company.

From MarketWatch

I run a public company that straddles the worlds of software and AI, and I’ve seen this movie before.

From The Wall Street Journal