systems of government

capitalism

capitalism [noun]

an economic, political, and social system in which property, business, and industry are privately owned, directed towards making the greatest possible profits for successful organizations and people

US /ˈkæp.ə.t̬əl.ɪ.zəm/ 
UK /ˈkæp.ɪ.təl.ɪ.zəm/ 

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

capitalism

capitalism /ˈkæpətl-ɪzəm, ˈkæpɪtl-ɪzəm/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
an economic and political system in which businesses belong mostly to private owners, not to the government ⇨ communism, socialism

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

capitalism

cap·it·al·ism [capitalism]   [ˈkæpɪtəlɪzəm]    [ˈkæpɪtəlɪzəm]  noun uncountable
an economic system in which a country's businesses and industry are controlled and run for profit by private owners rather than by the government
the growth of industrial capitalism in the West
compare  socialism  
Example Bank:
He predicted the fall of world capitalism.
He was one of the leading advocates of laissez-faire capitalism.
She deplored unbridled capitalism as much as communism.
a protest against global capitalism

a study of the development of agriculture under capitalism

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

capitalism / ˈkæp.ɪ.t ə l.ɪ.z ə m /   / -t̬ ə l- / noun [ U ]

C2 an economic, political, and social system in which property, business, and industry are privately owned, directed towards making the greatest possible profits for successful organizations and people

→  Compare communism , socialism

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

capitalism

[kæ̱pɪtəlɪzəm]
 N-UNCOUNT
 Capitalism is an economic and political system in which property, business, and industry are owned by private individuals and not by the state.
  ...the two fundamentally opposed social systems, capitalism and socialism.

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary: 

capitalism

cap·i·tal·ism /ˈkæpətəˌlɪzəm/ noun [noncount] : a way of organizing an economy so that the things that are used to make and transport products (such as land, oil, factories, ships, etc.) are owned by individual people and companies rather than by the government - compare communism, socialism

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