privately held corporation
- noun
- /ˈpraɪvɪtli hɛld kɔːrˈpɔːreɪʃən/
:
sociedad anónima cerrada
- Unlike public companies, a privately held corporation does not issue shares on the stock market.
Examples
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Great Benefit is owned by PinnConn, a privately held corporation whose owners are hard to pin down.
Fiction book (1995) -
With 270 stores and 40,000 employees, Menards is the third-largest home-improvement chain in the U.S. and one of the largest privately held corporations in the country.
Blog text (23) -
Menards is one of the largest privately held corporations in the United States, operating over 270 stores.
-
Great Benefit is a privately held corporation owned by a small group of investors, focusing on health services.
Synonyms
8
3.7
A company owned by a small group whose shares are not sold to the public
2
6.6
A company owned by a small group of people whose shares are not sold to the public
A company owned by a small group whose shares are not sold on the stock market
A company that a small group of people own and run and whose shares are not sold to the public
A company whose shares are owned by a small group and not sold to the public
How Private
Surface Forms
Morphology
privately + hold + corporation
The meaning 'a corporation owned by private individuals and not traded publicly' is directly derivable from the constituents: 'privately' (by private individuals), 'held' (past participle of 'hold' → owned/possessed), and 'corporation' (a legal company). The compound 'privately held' transparently conveys ownership status and is a common, cross-linguistically accessible composition, so a B1 learner who knows the parts should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Privately held corporation paints a simple picture: the company is held by a few private owners. Its 'shares' stay in private hands and are not sold on 'public stock exchanges', so it means a company owned by a small group rather than by the public.