Word.ws English Dictionary

agribusiness

Syllables: agri·busi·ness/ˈæɡɹɪˌbɪznəs/

agribusiness noun: business (especially big business) connected to agriculture, either owning or operating large-scale farms, or catering to those who do.

agribusiness: business (especially big business) connected to agriculture, either owning or operating large-scale...
Image: John Coppi, CSIRO, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

agribusiness (countable and uncountable, plural agribusinesses)

  1. (uncountable) Business (especially big business) connected to agriculture, either owning or operating large-scale farms, or catering to those who do.
    • Near-synonym: agroindustry
    • "Agribusiness," he [John H. Davis] says, "can be used as a starting point in the attack on the problem of farm surpluses and dipping farm incomes." [...] Davis arrives at his estimate that the agribusiness component of the total U.S. economy now accounts for no less than 40 per cent of the total...1955 October 23, “Agribusiness: A new term from Boston: Reprinted from Business Week”, in Des Moines Sunday Register (Sports), volume 107, number 125, Des Moines, Iowa: Des Moines Register & Tribune...
    Synonyms:
    agroindustry
  2. (countable) A business or group of businesses engaged in agriculture, particularly if using modern farming techniques in the process.
    • The notable difference between the performance of the government's agricultural firms and private agribusinesses is that the private firms use formal production contracts. These contracts add a measure of market security to both the processing factory and the grower which is the cornerstone of an...1983 September 21, Steven R. Tabor, Larry C. Morgan, “Agricultural Production Contracting in Pakistan: A Case Study in Agribusiness Innovation”, in Pakistan’s Edible Oilseeds Industry: […]...
    • The following broad categories of machinery users can be identified: / ― Estates, plantations, and large agri-businesses that purchase their machinery outright or with credit from commercial banks, and have their own maintenance and repair facilities; [...]1990, “Introduction and Background”, in Agricultural Engineering in Development: Guidelines for Mechanization Systems and Machinery Rehabilitation Programmes (FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin; 85)...

agribusiness meaning in Kannada, Malay and Indonesian

agribusiness in Kannada

ಕೃಷಿ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ

agribusiness in Malay

big business connected to agriculture
agribisnis
business or group of businesses engaged in agriculture
perniagaan tani

agribusiness in Indonesian

big business connected to agriculture
agribisnis
business or group of businesses engaged in agriculture
agribisnis

Examples of agribusiness in a sentence

  • In addition, there are service agribusinesses, notably supermarkets. [...] Agribusiness now includes all businesses whose raw materials are primarily products of the land and the sea.2019, Julian Roche, “The Need for Agribusiness”, in Agribusiness: An International Perspective, Abingdon, Oxfordshire; New York, N.Y....
  • The assault on the planet’s biggest terrestrial carbon sink by land-grabbers, agribusiness, miners and loggers is accelerating.2019 November 18, Jonathan Watts, “Amazon deforestation 'at highest level in a decade'”, in The Guardian:
  • The notable difference between the performance of the government's agricultural firms and private agribusinesses is that the private firms use formal production contracts.1983 September 21, Steven R. Tabor, Larry C. Morgan, “Agricultural Production Contracting in Pakistan: A Case Study in Agribusiness...
  • The poultry industry is characterized by a vertical integration in which an agribusiness firm, either through direct ownership or contract, controls the entire production process.2007, J. Dennis Lord, “Poultry”, in John T. Edge, editor, Foodways (The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture; 7), Chapel Hill, N.C....

Synonyms of agribusiness

Forms of agribusiness

pluralagribusinesses
alternative formagri-business

Plural of agribusiness: agribusinesses

Origin of agribusiness

From agri- + business, or a blend of agriculture + business, coined by American academic and diplomat John Herbert Davis (1904–1988).

Words formed from agribusiness

Questions about agribusiness

What does agribusiness mean?
Agribusiness means business (especially big business) connected to agriculture, either owning or operating large-scale farms, or catering to those who do.
What is agribusiness in Kannada?
Agribusiness in Kannada is ಕೃಷಿ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ. See Agribusiness meaning in Kannada.
How do you use agribusiness in a sentence?
In addition, there are service agribusinesses, notably supermarkets. [...] Agribusiness now includes all businesses whose raw materials are primarily products of the land and the sea.
What part of speech is agribusiness?
Agribusiness is a noun.
How do you pronounce agribusiness?
Agribusiness is pronounced /ˈæɡɹɪˌbɪznəs/ (UK).
What is the plural of agribusiness?
The plural of agribusiness is agribusinesses.

Words near agribusiness in the dictionary

  1. agribot
  2. agribots
  3. Agriboz
  4. agribulk
  5. agribulks
  6. agribusiness
  7. agribusinesses
  8. agribusinessman
  9. agribusinessmen
  10. agribusinesspeople
  11. agribusinessperson

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: agribusiness (page history and authors); agribusiness (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-agribusiness.oga.

Cite this entry: “agribusiness.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/agribusiness. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.