# company

Pronunciation: say "KUM-puh-nee" US /ˈkʌmpəni/, UK /ˈkʌmp(ə)ni/

## Noun

1. A business that makes or sells goods or provides services, especially one registered as a legal entity.
   - Simple: A business that makes or sells things or provides services.
   - _The company manufactures auto parts for several major brands._
   - _After its sales doubled, the company hired fifty new workers and opened a second factory._
2. The comfort or pleasure of having others around; companionship.
   - Simple: The good feeling of having someone with you.
   - _After his wife passed, he missed her company terribly._
   - _The children kept their grandmother company all afternoon._
3. People who are visiting, or those one spends social time with.
   - Simple: People who come to visit you at your home.
   - _They weren't expecting company, so the house was a mess._
   - _She always cooks something special when company comes by._
4. A group of people gathered or associated together, often for a shared purpose.
   - Simple: A group of people together, often doing something for the same purpose.
   - _A company of actors toured the country performing the play._
   - _The travelers formed a company to cross the desert together._
5. A military unit of roughly sixty to a hundred and twenty soldiers, made up of two or three platoons within a battalion.
   - Simple: A group of about sixty to a hundred soldiers in an army.
   - _The captain ordered the company to hold the ridge until dawn._
   - _Two companies were deployed to reinforce the battalion._
6. A team of firefighters together with their vehicles and equipment.
   - Simple: A team of firefighters and the trucks and tools they use.
   - _The company stretched a hose line up to the second floor._
   - _Two companies responded to the multi-alarm blaze downtown._
7. The whole crew of a ship, taken together.
   - Simple: All the people who work on a ship.
   - _The ship's company numbered nearly three hundred sailors._
   - _The captain addressed the company before the long voyage began._
8. A small group of birds or animals gathered together.
   - Simple: A small group of animals or birds together.
   - _A company of widgeon settled on the lake at sunset._
   - _The hunters spotted a company of partridges in the open field._
9. An intelligence service; a spy agency, especially as informally referred to by those who work inside it. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A secret government group that gathers information, also called a spy agency.
   - _Old hands at the Company rarely discussed their assignments._
   - _She was recruited by the Company straight out of college._

## Verb

10. To keep company with someone, either by going along with them or by spending time with them. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To go with someone or spend time with them.
   - _A faithful servant companied him throughout his long exile._
   - _She hoped an angel might company her through the dark valley._
11. To keep others company in a cheerful, lively way. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To act as a fun, cheerful friend to others.
12. To engage in sexual intercourse, especially with another person. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To have sexual relations, usually with another person.

## Origin

Old French compaignie ("companionship"), possibly from an unattested Late Latin *compania, became Middle English companye ("a team, companionship"). The Old French word is made of compaignon ("companion") and the suffix -ie. It pushed aside native Old English words such as werod and hired.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/company (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).