free enterprise

SEE SYNONYMS FOR free enterprise ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an economic and political doctrine holding that a capitalist economy can regulate itself in a freely competitive market through the relationship of supply and demand with a minimum of governmental intervention and regulation.
the practice of free enterprise in an economy, or the right to practice it.
Also called private enterprise.

Origin of free enterprise

First recorded in 1885–90

OTHER WORDS FROM free enterprise

free-en·ter·pris·ing, adjective

Words nearby free enterprise

free company, free delivery, free diving, free electron, free energy, free enterprise, free enterpriser, free expansion, free fall, free flap, free flight

Words related to free enterprise

liberalism, capitalism

Example sentences from the Web for free enterprise

British Dictionary definitions for free enterprise

free enterprise

noun

an economic system in which commercial organizations compete for profit with little state control

Cultural definitions for free enterprise

free enterprise

The freedom of private businesses to operate competitively for profit with minimal governmental regulation.

Idioms and Phrases with free enterprise

free enterprise

Also, private enterprise. An undertaking on one's own behalf, especially a shady or illegal one. For example, The city treasurer didn't bother with competitive bids; the spirit of free enterprise just led him to his brother-in-law, or The sergeant indulged in a little private enterprise, selling cigarettes on the black market. This sarcastic application of a term that has meant, since about 1885, the freedom of private businesses to operate competitively for profit with a minimum of government control, dates from the mid-1900s.