Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Business"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Business \Busi"ness\, n.; pl. {Businesses}. [From {Busy}.]
1. That which busies one, or that which engages the time,
attention, or labor of any one, as his principal concern
or interest, whether for a longer or shorter time;
constant employment; regular occupation; as, the business
of life; business before pleasure.

Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's
business? --Luke ii. 49.

2. Any particular occupation or employment engaged in for
livelihood or gain, as agriculture, trade, art, or a
profession. ``The business of instruction.'' --Prescott.

3. Financial dealings; buying and selling; traffic in
general; mercantile transactions.

It seldom happens that men of a studious turn
acquire any degree of reputation for their knowledge
of business. --Bp. Popteus.

4. That which one has to do or should do; special service,
duty, or mission.

The daughter of the King of France, On serious
business, craving quick despatch, Importunes
personal conference. --Shak.

What business has the tortoise among the clouds?
--L'Estrange.

5. Affair; concern; matter; -- used in an indefinite sense,
and modified by the connected words.

It was a gentle business, and becoming The action of
good women. --Shak.

Bestow Your needful counsel to our business. --Shak.

6. (Drama) The position, distribution, and order of persons
and properties on the stage of a theater, as determined by
the stage manager in rehearsal.

7. Care; anxiety; diligence. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

{To do one's business}, to ruin one. [Colloq.] --Wycherley.

{To make (a thing) one's business}, to occupy one's self with
a thing as a special charge or duty. [Colloq.]

{To mean business}, to be earnest. [Colloq.]

Syn: Affairs; concern; transaction; matter; engagement;
employment; calling; occupation; trade; profession;
vocation; office; duty.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

business
adj : of or relating to or characteristic of trade or traders;
"the mercantile North was forging ahead"- Van Wyck
Brooks [syn: {mercantile}, {business(a)}]
n 1: a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who
constitute it; "he bought his brother's business"; "a
small mom-and-pop business"; "a racially integrated
business concern" [syn: {concern}, {business concern}, {business
organization}]
2: the activity of providing goods and services involving
financial and commercial and industrial aspects;
"computers are now widely used in business" [syn: {commercial
enterprise}, {business enterprise}]
3: business concerns collectively; "Government and business
could not agree" [syn: {business sector}]
4: the volume of business activity: "business is good today";
"show me where the business was today"
5: a rightful concern or responsibility; used in such phrases
as "it's none of your business" or "mind your own
business"
6: the principal activity in your life that you do to earn
money; "he's not in my line of business" [syn: {occupation},
{job}, {line of work}, {line}]
7: an immediate objective; "gossip was the main business of the
evening"
8: incidental activity performed by an actor for dramatic
effect; "his business with the cane was hilarious" [syn: {stage
business}, {byplay}]
9: customers collectively; "they have an upper class clientele"
[syn: {clientele}, {patronage}]


Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup

Enter word here:
Exact Approx


dict.stokkie.net
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents; see the Webster Gateway FAQ, and also the Back-end/database links and credits.