public company

American  

noun

British.

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

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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

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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.”

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Example Sentences

SpaceX’s market capitalization reached $2.8 trillion on Tuesday, eclipsing e-commerce giant Amazon, and made SpaceX the fifth largest public company.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2026

After climbing an additional 4.8% in Tuesday’s session, SpaceX ended the day as the world’s fifth-largest public company by market cap, surpassing Amazon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026

Despite SpaceX becoming a public company, which will put its operations under more scrutiny, Musk will maintain almost total control of it.

From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026

SpaceX is planning to begin trading as a public company on Friday.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026

However, when Bell achieved an unmistakable success, Gray brought a suit against him, which resulted in a compromise, one public company acquiring both patents.

From Heroes of the Telegraph by Munro, John