business

  • noun 1 a person’s regular occupation or trade. 2 work to be done or matters to be attended to. 3 a person’s concern. 4 commercial activity. 5 a commercial organization. 6 informal a difficult or problematic matter. 7 (the business) informal an excellent person or thing. 8 actions other than dialogue in a play.

  — PHRASES in business informal operating or able to begin operation. in the business of engaged in or prepared to engage in. like nobody’s business informal extraordinarily. mind one’s own business avoid meddling in other people’s affairs.

  — ORIGIN Old English, anxiety (from BUSY + -NESS); the sense a duty, from which other senses developed, dates from Middle English.

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