Company Meaning
/ˈkʌmp(ə)ni/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA team; a group of people who work together professionally.
nounA team; a group of people who work together professionally., A group of individuals who work together for a common purpose.
Sentence Examples
If you don't want to stay alone, I can keep you company.
You had better not keep company with him.
A German firm launched a takeover bid for the company.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The software ____ released a new version of its operating system last week.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He works as an engineer for a large software ____.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English companye (“a team; companionship”), from Old French compaignie (“companionship”) (Modern French: compagnie), possibly from Late Latin *compania, but this word is not attested. Old French compaignie is equivalent to Old French compaignon (Modern French: compagnon) + -ie. More at companion. Displaced native Old English werod, gefer, getæl, and hired.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It was by his order the shattered leading company flung itself into the houses when the Sin Verguenza were met by an enfilading volley as they reeled into the calle."
— 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 30, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:
"“[…] That woman is stark mad, Lord Stranleigh.[…]If she had her way, she’d ruin the company inside a year with her hare-brained schemes; love of the people, and that sort of guff.”"
— 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad:
"In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […] The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra-wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised."
— 2013 May 17, George Monbiot, “Money just makes the rich suffer”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 23, page 19:
"According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle."
— 2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 95:
"The company added it has not “received any reports of adverse events,” but it’s moving forward with the recall out of “an abundance of caution.”"
— 2021 November 26, Jackie Wattles, “Some Old Spice and Secret deodorants recalled after cancer-causing chemical is detected”, in CNN Business:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The software ____ released a new version of its operating system last week.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He works as an engineer for a large software ____.