company: Meaning and Definition of

com•pa•ny

Pronunciation: (kum'pu-nē), [key]
— n., pl. v., -nies, -nied, -ny•ing.
—n.
  1. a number of individuals assembled or associated together; group of people.
  2. a guest or guests: We're having company for dinner.
  3. an assemblage of persons for social purposes.
  4. companionship; fellowship; association: I always enjoy her company.
  5. one's usual companions: I don't like the company he keeps.
  6. society collectively.
  7. a number of persons united or incorporated for joint action, esp. for business: a publishing company; a dance company.
  8. (cap.) the members of a firm not specifically named in the firm's title: George Higgins and Company.
    1. the smallest body of troops, consisting of a headquarters and two or three platoons.
    2. any relatively small group of soldiers.
    3. Army.a basic unit with both tactical and administrative functions.
  9. a unit of firefighters, including their special apparatus: a hook-and-ladder company.
  10. Also calleda ship's crew, including the officers.
  11. a medieval trade guild.
  12. a nation's major intelligence-gathering and espionage organization, as the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
  13. My sister has been keeping company with a young lawyer.
    1. to associate with; be a friend of.
    2. Informal.to go together, as in courtship:My sister has been keeping company with a young lawyer.
  14. We parted company 20 years ago after the argument.
    1. to cease association or friendship with:We parted company 20 years ago after the argument.
    2. to take a different or opposite view; differ:He parted company with his father on politics.
    3. to separate:We parted company at the airport.
—v.i.
  1. to associate.
—v.t.
  1. to accompany.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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