1. Business activities unregulated by state ownership or control; privately owned business.
2. A privately owned business enterprise, especially one operating under a system of free enterprise or laissez-faire capitalism.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.