Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - company

~ n 1 »BUSINESS« an organization that makes or sells goods or services in order to get money  (Craig got a job working for an insurance company. (also + plural v BrE))  (The company are hoping to expand their operations abroad. | manage/run a company)  (In ten years Geoff went from working in the mail room to running the company. | set up/start a company)  (The company was set up just after the war. | a company goes bankrupt/bust/out of business (=stops doing business because it owes so much money))  (Quite a few companies went bankrupt in the late 1980s. | company directors/employees/policy etc)  (It's not company policy to exchange goods without a receipt.)  (- see also public company) 2 »OTHER PEOPLE« another person, or other people, that you can talk to or who stop you feeling lonely  (They obviously enjoy each other's company. | keep sb company)  (Rita's husband is away for the week, so I thought I'd go over and keep her company. | be good company (=if someone is good company, you enjoy being with them) | as company)  (Bessie was glad to have the dog as company. | in sb's company/in the company of sb (=with someone))  (I couldn't help feeling uneasy in the company of such an important man. | in company with sb (=together with another person or with a group))  (He left for New York, in company with the orchestra.) 3 »GUESTS« a guest or guests who are visiting you in your home, or someone who is coming to see you  (have company)  (It looks like the Hammills have company - there are three cars in the driveway. | expect company (=be waiting for guests to arrive))  (We're expecting company this evening.) 4 »FRIENDS« the group of people that you are friends with or that you spend time with  (in pleasant/elevated etc company)  (She was too shy to mix in such elevated company. | the company sb keeps (=the people you spend time with))  (People do tend to judge you by the company you keep. | bad company (=people who do things you disapprove of))  (parents worry that their children are being led into bad company | not like the company sb is keeping (=disapprove of the people someone is friends with) | keep company with sb old-fashioned (=spend time with someone)) 5 »PERFORMERS« a group of actors, dancers, or singers who work together  (Our local theatre gets a lot of touring companies.) 6 be in good company used to tell someone that important or respected people have done something similar to what they have done, so they should not be ashamed 7 »GROUP« a group of people who are together in the same place, often for a particular purpose or for social reasons  (These remarks made the assembled company burst into sudden applause. | in company (=surrounded by other people, especially at a formal or social occasion))  (Parents need to teach their children how to behave in company.) 8 and company especially spoken used after a person's name to mean that person and their friends  ("Who's going to the party?" "Jim and company, I guess.") 9 »ARMY« a group of about 120 soldiers who are usually part of a larger group 10 two's company, three's a crowd used to suggest that two people would rather be alone together than have other people with them 11 in company with sth if something happens in company with something else, both things happen at the same time  (Democracy progressed in company with the emancipation of women.)  (- see also part company part2 (3), present company excepted present1 (5))