free enterprise
Americannoun
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an economic and political doctrine holding that a capitalist economy can regulate itself in a freely competitive market through the relationship of supply and demand with a minimum of governmental intervention and regulation.
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the practice of free enterprise in an economy, or the right to practice it.
noun
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Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of free enterprise
First recorded in 1885–90
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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.
Adam Smith, by contrast, argued that free enterprise and the uncoordinated pursuit of individual self-interest would lead to better outcomes for more people.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
“Look, America is founded on free enterprise and capitalism,” Essayli said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
Mr. Muratov, 61, sits in an office featuring a photograph of Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the leader now reviled by many Russians, who rejected Communism in favor of free speech, free enterprise and open borders.
From New York Times • Aug. 6, 2023
Li, an advocate of free enterprise, was forced out as the No. 2 party leader in October.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 4, 2023
But they seemed gratified, as Mayor Don Carter, who was one of those to go big-time belly up, put it, to have taken a “chance in the free enterprise market.”
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
