[biz-nis] 
| 1. | an occupation, profession, or trade: His business is poultry farming. |
| 2. | the purchase and sale of goods in an attempt to make a profit. |
| 3. | a person, partnership, or corporation engaged in commerce, manufacturing, or a service; profit-seeking enterprise or concern. |
| 4. | volume of trade; patronage: Most of the store's business comes from local families. |
| 5. | a building or site where commercial work is carried on, as a factory, store, or office; place of work: His business is on the corner of Broadway and Elm Street. |
| 6. | that with which a person is principally and seriously concerned: Words are a writer's business. |
| 7. | something with which a person is rightfully concerned: What they are doing is none of my business. |
| 8. | affair; project: We were exasperated by the whole business. |
| 9. | an assignment or task; chore: It's your business to wash the dishes now. |
| 10. | Also called piece of business, stage business. Theater. a movement or gesture, esp. a minor one, used by an actor to give expressiveness, drama, detail, etc., to a scene or to help portray a character. |
| 11. | excrement: used as a euphemism. |
| 12. | of, noting, or pertaining to business, its organization, or its procedures. |
| 13. | containing, suitable for, or welcoming business or commerce: New York is a good business town. |
| 14. | business is business, profit has precedence over personal considerations: He is reluctant to fire his friend, but business is business. |
| 15. | do one's business, (usually of an animal or child) to defecate or urinate: housebreaking a puppy to do his business outdoors. |
| 16. | get down to business, to apply oneself to serious matters; concentrate on work: They finally got down to business and signed the contract. |
| 17. | give someone the business, Informal.
|
| 18. | have no business, to have no right: You have no business coming into this house. |
| 19. | mean business, to propose to take action or be serious in intent; be in earnest: By the fire in his eye we knew that he meant business. |
| 20. | mind one's own business, to refrain from meddling in the affairs of others: When he inquired about the noise coming from the neighbor's apartment, he was told to mind his own business. |
| busi·ness (bĭz'nĭs) n.
[Middle English businesse, from bisi, busy; see busy.] Synonyms: These nouns apply to forms of activity that have the objective of supplying commodities. Business pertains broadly to commercial, financial, and industrial activity: decided to go into the oil business. |
business
In addition to the idiom beginning with business, also see funny business; get down to (business); go about (one's business); have no business doing; land-office business; like mad (nobody's business); make it one's business; mean business; mind one's own business; monkey business; none of one's business; out of business; send someone about his or her business; the business.
business
The collapse of the subprime mortgage market by mid-2007, though long predicted, wreaked havoc on both the housing and financial industries (several major banks posted mortgage-related losses in the billions of dollars) and resulted in a major credit crunch that impaired many businesses' ability to secure short-term financing. (See Sidebar: United States.)
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nɪs
