# business

/ˈbɪznəs/ (US) · /bˈɪznəs/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/business
Updated: 2026-04-30

## Senses

### 1. a company

noun · CEFR A1

an organization or shop that makes, buys, or sells things for money.

For teachers: a specific commercial enterprise or establishment. Countable in this sense.

- My uncle started a small business selling handmade furniture last year.
- The family-owned business managed to survive the economic downturn by pivoting to online sales and reducing overhead costs.

### 2. commercial activity

noun · CEFR A2

the activity of buying and selling goods and services.

For teachers: commercial, industrial, or professional activity in general. Uncountable in this sense.

- It is difficult to do business in a country with very strict laws.
- The chamber of commerce aims to promote local business by hosting networking events and providing grants to startups.

### 3. personal concern

noun · CEFR B1

something that involves you personally and is not for other people to worry about.

For teachers: matters that concern a specific person; one's private affairs or responsibility.

- What I do in my free time is my own business.
- He politely informed the nosy neighbor that his financial situation was none of her business.

### 4. work or task

noun · CEFR B1

the work that you do as your job, or a specific task you must finish.

For teachers: a person's occupation, trade, or a specific matter requiring attention.

- She is away in New York on business for two weeks.
- The committee moved quickly through the agenda to address the most urgent business before the lunch break.

### 5. travel class

noun · CEFR B1

a comfortable part of a plane or train for people traveling for work.

For teachers: a class of seating on an aircraft or train between first class and economy.

- The company paid for him to fly business so he could sleep.
- Upgrading to business allowed the executive to arrive refreshed and ready for the morning negotiations.

### 6. acting movement

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

small actions an actor does on stage, like pouring a drink.

For teachers: actions or gestures performed by an actor to add detail to a scene without using dialogue.

- The director added some business with a newspaper to make the scene natural.
- The actor's subtle business with his spectacles conveyed a sense of nervous hesitation that the script alone lacked.

### 7. animal waste

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal

a polite way to talk about an animal going to the toilet.

For teachers: a euphemism for the act of defecation or the excrement itself, typically regarding pets.

- Make sure you clean up after your dog does his business in the park.
- The puppy was finally trained to do its business outside on the grass rather than on the carpet.

### 8. the best

noun · CEFR C2 · British English · Slang

something that is very good or excellent.

For teachers: an entity or event of superior quality or excellence.

- That new burger place is the business.
- The sound system they installed for the festival was absolutely the business, providing crystal-clear audio even at the back of the field.

### 9. professional

adjective · CEFR A2

related to work or serious professional activity.

For teachers: pertaining to or used for the purposes of conducting trade or professional governance.

- You should wear business clothes for your interview tomorrow.
- The hotel offers a business center equipped with high-speed internet and printing facilities for traveling professionals.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.