company _noun

1-) a business organization

ADJECTIVES

big, large 
・She has a senior position in a large manufacturing company.

small
・His father is the director of a small company.

medium-sized
・The firm is a medium-sized company, employing just over 300 workers.

leading, major 
・Apple is one of the world’s leading computer companies.

reputable 
・Choose a reputable company to do the building work.

profitable, successful 
・How can we make this company more profitable?

foreign
・There are many opportunities for foreign companies here.

international, multinational 
・She works for a major international company.
・Within ten years the business grew into a huge multinational company.

local
・The new development will bring more business to local companies.

private 
・It is private companies that create wealth in a society.

public, listed 
・They are on the index of the top 100 listed companies.

limited 
・We decided it would be safer to change our business into a limited company.

state-owned, publicly owned 
・The state-owned company was very inefficient.

NOUNS

internet
・He started his own internet company when he was only 15.

oil, drug, insurance, phone, etc. 
・The oil company is paying for the clean-up operation.
・I called the phone company about the bill.

manufacturing, publishing, shipping, etc. 
・She works for a publishing company editing textbooks.
・Manufacturing companies are worst hit by the economic crisis.
・The tanker is owned by a New York shipping company.

utility 
・The utility companies have made huge profits.

water, electricity, gas 
・The water company says it is not responsible for the burst pipe.

bus, train 
・I phoned the bus company to see if I had left my bag on the bus.

subsidiary 
・It is a large organization with several subsidiary companies.

parent 
・The firm’s parent company is in the US.

sister 
・Many of the flights will be operated by our sister company.

blue-chip 
・He only invests in blue-chip companies.

COMPANY + NOUN
director, executive 
・The company directors have awarded themselves a massive pay increase.
・He earns a huge amount of money as a senior company executive.

spokesman, representative 
・A company spokesman denied that there had been a secret deal.

policy
・It is not company policy to give that information.

car
・Most sales people have company cars. 

pension
・I joined the company pension scheme when I started work.

secretary 
・One of the directors acts as company secretary.

logo 
・The packaging has the company logo on it.

VERBS

work for 
・She works for a publishing company.

run, manage 
・Nick runs an internet company.

join, leave 
・Sara joined the company in 2008 as a software developer.

resign from 
・I resigned from the company when they refused to promote me.

set up, start, form, found, establish 
・The company was set up just after the war.
・The company was founded in 1993 by William J. Nutt.

launch 
・Last year, she launched her own company.

own 
・The company is owned by an Indian businessman.

buy, sell 
・They sold the company for a million dollars.

take over 
・The company was taken over by an Indian construction firm.

wind up, dissolve 
・The factory was closed when the company was wound up.

liquidate 
・Records show that the company was liquidated in 2009.

sue 
・He threatened to sue the company for his injuries.

COMPANY + VERB
make, manufacture, produce
・The company manufactures parts for car engines.

sell
・What does your company sell?

supply
・British Gas is one of the companies that supplies gas in the UK.

specialize
・We are a small company specializing in organic cotton clothing. 

grow, expand
・The company has expanded since last year. 

go bankrupt, fail
・He lost everything when his company went bankrupt. 

merge with
・What happened when the oil companies merged?

PHRASES

a company goes bust/goes under/goes to the wall 
・They were worried that the company was about to go bust.

a company goes into liquidation 
・The company was forced to go into liquidation.

2-) the fact that you are with another person

ADJECTIVES 

good, pleasant 
・I always liked seeing Rob – he was such good company. 

poor 
・She apologized for being poor company on the journey.

mixed 
・Most of us are happy in mixed company.

assembled 
・He gazed at the assembled company.

VERBS

enjoy 
・Steve was fun and she clearly enjoyed his company.
・The two men enjoy each other’s company.

have
・I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you had company.

need, want 
・Children need the company of other kids their age.

expect
・You look very nice – are you expecting company?

PREPOSITIONS

for
・She only had her cat for company.

in 
・He finds it hard to speak to people and is awkward in company.

PHRASES

in the company of sb 
・I felt nervous in the company of such an important man.

keep sb company 
・Mum was out so I stayed at home to keep my younger sister company.

like/prefer your own company 
・She’s not unfriendly – she just prefers her own company.

seek (out) the company of sb
・He has never sought the company of women.

have the pleasure of sb’s company 
・Will we have the pleasure of your company this evening?

the company sb keeps 
・You can tell a lot about someone by the company they keep.

get into bad company 
・Things began to go wrong when he got into bad company.

you’re in good company 
・If you don’t understand these instructions, you’re in good company.