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doing business as

doing business as

1 5.6
A name a business uses that is not its legal name
  • noun
  • Formal
translation icon : nombre comercial
  • Doing business as Text A Day, the company operates a best-in-class mobile commerce and communication platform specifically designed to serve the needs of the non-profit community.
  • also doing business as

Examples

  • We went back to the old way of doing business as a result.

    Blog text (22)
  • So it's Luke doing business as summertime market.

  • In many ways, this looks very much like identity theft, where someone who isn't you replaces you at the bank and credit card companies, and, using your good name, begins to act and do business as if they were you, always to your detriment.

    Blog text (22)
  • The local bakery operates under the name Sweet Treats, doing business as Daisy's Delights.

  • When filing taxes, it's important to report any names you use doing business as your corporation.

  • Acme Corp., doing business as Fresh Foods, has become the largest grocery retailer in the region.

Synonyms

DBA
vsdoing business as
  • Jargon
3 8.3

A name a company uses to do business that is different from its legal name

is the full phrase rather than an abbreviation
assumed name
vsdoing business as
  • Formal
1 6.9

A name a business uses that is different from its legal name

focuses on the general phrase for operating under a nonregistered name
fictitious name
vsdoing business as
  • Formal
1 7.8

A name a business uses that is not its legal registered name

is the everyday wording for the same concept rather than the legal label

Surface Forms

Morphology

dae + business + as

The phrase is largely built from its parts: 'doing' (carrying out) + 'business' (commercial activity) + 'as' (in the role/name of), so a learner can infer it means operating under a particular name. However, the expression is a conventional legal/administrative formula (often abbreviated DBA) with a specific nuance — a trade name distinct from the legal registered name — that B1 learners may not predict from the constituents alone.

Etymology

The phrase doing business as comes from the simple idea of a person or company doing business under a different trade name on their shop sign or papers. Imagine a shop that shows one name to customers while the legal papers show another; that's why doing business as means 'a name a business uses that is not its legal name'.