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commercial enterprise

commercial enterprise

4 3.4
A business that sells goods or services to make money
  • noun
  • /kəˈmɜrʃəl ˈɛn.tərˌpraɪz/
translation icon : empresa comercial
  • Partnering with school districts, individual schools, other charitable entities, and even commercial enterprises is a common strategy.
  • small commercial enterprise
  • new commercial enterprise
  • large commercial enterprises

Examples

  • Many local small businesses are classified as commercial enterprises that aim to generate profit.

  • Increasing numbers of commercial enterprises and individuals that lawyers represent or might like to are on the Internet.

    Academic text (1995)
  • I do not do this as a commercial enterprise, nor am I paid in any way.

    Academic text (2003)
  • When the Internet became a commercial enterprise around 1995, it was a very controversial action.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Lithuanians had been active in commercial enterprises in the United States.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Irakau was renowned in the area for having organized his entire village into a successful commercial enterprise.

    Academic text (1990)
  • The service sector, which features financial and commercial enterprises, in 1988 accounted for 67 percent of GDP.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Trading companies are wholly owned by councils but operate as commercial enterprises, providing more opportunities to compete for contracts.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Several professional traders have little land but have been able to accumulate considerable capital from their commercial enterprises.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Several measures are in place to curb agricultural productivity, but the expansion of commercial enterprises remains virtually unchecked.

    Academic text (1999)

Synonyms

company
vscommercial enterprise
1.0

A business that makes and sells things or offers services for money

is the broad term for a profit-seeking organization rather than this formal type
business
vscommercial enterprise
1.0

Buying and selling goods or services to make money

is the organization that carries out this activity to earn profit
enterprise
vscommercial enterprise
420 3.8

A business often new and needing bold action

is the ordinary profit-driven organization without emphasis on novelty or risk
business enterprise
vscommercial enterprise
3 3.2

An organization that sells goods or services to make a profit

is the narrower idea of an organization that sells to make profit
business concern
vscommercial enterprise
  • Formal
1 3.2

A company that sells goods or provides services, including its people

is the simple profit-making organization without stressing people or structure

How Big

multinational
112 4.4
corporation
3.7
commercial enterprise
4 3.4
company
1.0
proprietorship
  • Specialized
3 7.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

commercial + enterprise

The meaning is directly predictable from the parts: 'enterprise' denotes an organization or business and 'commercial' specifies trade/profit-related activity, so together they denote a business engaged in commercial activity. This adjective+noun composition is common across languages and follows regular English modification patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand it.

Etymology

Commercial enterprise comes from two simple words: commercial, meaning about buying and selling, and enterprise, meaning a project someone starts. Imagine a person starting a trading project, buying goods and selling them to earn money. That's why a commercial enterprise is a business set up 'to make a profit'.