unincorporated
Americanadjective
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not chartered as a corporation; lacking the powers and immunities of a corporate enterprise.
an unincorporated business.
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not chartered as a self-governing village or city; lacking the tax, police, and other powers conferred by the state on incorporated towns.
an unincorporated hamlet.
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not combined into a single body or unit; not made part of; not included.
Many unincorporated research notes are appended to the text of the book.
adjective
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law lacking corporate status
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not unified or included
Etymology
Origin of unincorporated
First recorded in 1705–15; un- 1 + incorporated
Explanation
If a company is unincorporated, it isn't formally or legally recognized. Your sidewalk lemonade stand, unlike Walmart or Costco, is unincorporated. The adjective unincorporated can be used for something that's not fully combined or mixed into a whole, like unincorporated baking soda in your pancake batter that you need to stir a bit more. But it usually describes a business that hasn't legally registered with the government so that it can be considered a corporation. Unincorporated derives from the Latin incorporare, "unite into one body," with the prefix un- meaning "not."
Vocabulary lists containing unincorporated
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.
In Swannanoa, an unincorporated town of about 5,000 people 10 miles east of downtown, Helene closed the post office and the only supermarket, and neither has reopened.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
Similar outbreaks also have occurred in Santa Monica and the unincorporated neighborhoods of Willowbrook near Compton, health officials said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
Pathway Home, Los Angeles County’s encampment removal program, has conducted 10 operations in the two cities and their immediate unincorporated islands, bringing a total of 303 people off the streets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Pecan Island is an unincorporated, coastal area of Vermilion Parish with between 100 and 200 permanent residents, according to Michael S. Martin, professor of history at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
SABIO, SHALE: It’s an intersection in an unincorporated public neighborhood, Mom.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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