What does "agribusiness" mean?

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

What is a synonym for "agribusiness"?

Common synonyms include: agriculture, agrobusiness, agroindustry, factory farm.

Pronounced //ˈæɡɹɪˌbɪznəs//.

//ˈæɡɹɪˌbɪznəs// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
Business (especially big business) connected to agriculture, either owning or operating large-scale farms, or catering to those who do. uncountable
"Near-synonym: agroindustry"
2
a large-scale farming enterprise wordnet
3
A business or group of businesses engaged in agriculture, particularly if using modern farming techniques in the process. countable
"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 economic atmosphere conducive to rapid agricultural development."

"Overseas food exports are one of the mainstays of agribusiness."

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

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.