Is "business" a count noun?

Question

I often find a phrase like "Sony's TV and game businesses." I think your dictionary defines the word "business" as uncountable in such a case. Is the dictionary wrong? - Hidei, Japan

Answer

The noun business

Like many other nouns, the noun business can be either countable or uncountable (or count and  noncount). Whether business is a count noun, a noun that can be plural and can be counted, or a noncount noun, a noun that has no plural form and cannot be counted, depends on its meaning in a particular context.

In the phrase quoted above, “Sony’s TV and game businesses,” “businesses” refers to a group of companies that belong to Sony. In this context, business means “an organization (such as a store or company) that makes, buys, or sells goods or provides services in exchange for money.” This is meaning 2 in our dictionary, a meaning that is correctly labeled count.

Other meanings of the noun business, such as meaning 1, “the activity of making, buying, or selling goods or providing services in exchange for money” are correctly labeled  noncount.

I hope this answers your question. For information about other nouns like business, read below. 

Other nouns like business

English has many nouns like business, that have count and noncount meanings that are both in common use. See, for example, the examples with life, play, and room, shown below.

life

·       They spent their whole lives in one town (life = the period of time when a person is alive, a count meaning)

·       There were no signs of life in the deserted village (life = energy and spirit, a noncount meaning)

room 

·       I could hear the TV from the next room. (room = A part of the inside of a building that is divided by walls and a door, a count meaning)

·       We’re running out of room. (room = space that is used for something, a noncount meaning)

play 

·       The play is based on a real-life event. (play = a piece of writing that tells a story performed by actors on a stage, a count meaning)

·       All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy (play = activities that are done for fun or enjoyment, a noncount meaning)

Nouns that are almost always noncount

Keep in mind that in addition to these words that have common count and noncount uses, there are English nouns that are always or almost always noncount. Some well-known examples are information, weather, rain, and confusion.