entrepreneurship

6 synonyms for entrepreneurship, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — The activity of setting up and running a business, taking on the financial risk in the hope of profit.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

enterprise initiative

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

business ownership venturing self-employment resourcefulness

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

The activity of setting up and running a business, taking on the financial risk in the hope of profit.

“She teaches entrepreneurship to final-year students.”

enterprise business ownership venturing self-employment

2. noun

The mindset or set of qualities associated with starting ventures, such as initiative, risk-taking and the ability to spot an opportunity.

“His whole career is a case study in entrepreneurship.”

initiative enterprise resourcefulness

How to use entrepreneurship

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

social entrepreneurship entrepreneurship programme spirit of entrepreneurship encourage entrepreneurship tech entrepreneurship

Neutral and common in business, education and journalism. The word is long and slightly formal; in speech people often just say 'starting a business'.

Etymology

From French entrepreneur, literally 'one who undertakes', from entreprendre 'to undertake', plus the English suffix -ship denoting a state or activity.

Full origin of entrepreneurship →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between entrepreneurship and a small business?

A small business is the thing itself — a shop, a garage, a consultancy — usually run on a proven model. Entrepreneurship is the activity of creating and growing a venture while carrying its risk, and it often implies innovation or rapid growth. Every entrepreneur may run a business, but not every business owner is doing something new.

What is the difference between entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship?

Entrepreneurship means building a venture on your own account, with your own money or investors' money at stake. Intrapreneurship means doing the same kind of innovative, risk-taking work inside an existing company, using its resources and on its payroll.

Is entrepreneurship a skill you can learn?

Parts of it plainly are — finance, marketing, hiring and negotiation are all taught on business courses. Traits such as risk tolerance and persistence are harder to teach, which is why most programmes combine classroom work with actually launching something.

People also searched

enterprise initiative resourcefulness venturing

Nearby words

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