businesses owned and operated by one individual; the most common form of business organization in the United States

a form of business organization defined by the Uniform Partnership Act as “an association of two or more persons who carry on as co-owners of a business for profit”

a partnership that involves a complete sharing in both the management and the liability of the business

a business organization that has at least one general partner, who assumes unlimited liability, and at least one limited partner, whose liability is limited to his or her investment in the business

legal documents that set forth the basic agreement between partners    

a legal entity, created by the state, whose assets and liabilities are separate from its owners

shares of a corporation that may be bought or sold

profits of a corporation that are distributed in the form of cash payments to stockholders

a legal document that the state issues to a company based on information the company provides in the articles of incorporation

a corporation owned by just one of a few people who are closely involved in managing the business

a corporation, whose stock anyone may buy, sell, or trade

selling a corporation’s stock on public markets for the first time

corporations owned and operated by the federal, state, or local government

corporations that focus on providing a service rather than earning a profit but are not owned by a government entity

a group of individuals, elected by the stockholders to oversee the general operation of the corporation, who set the corporation’s long-range objectives

a special type of stock whose owners, though not generally having a say in running the company, have a claim to profits before other stockholders do

stocks, whose owners have voting rights in the corporation, yet do not receive preferential treatment regarding dividends

a partnership established for a specific project or for a limited time

corporation taxed as though it were a partnership with restrictions on shareholders

form of ownership that provides limited liability and taxation like a partnership but places fewer restrictions on members

an organization composed of individuals or small businesses that have banded together to reap the benefits of belonging to a larger organization

the combination of two companies (usually corporations) to form a new company

the purchase of one company by another, usually buying its stock

a purchase in which a group of investors borrows money from banks and other institutions to acquire a company (or a division of one), using the assets of the purchased company to guaranteed repayment of the loan