Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Business \Busi"ness\, n.; pl. {Businesses}. [From {Busy}.]
   1. That which busies one, or that which engages the time,
      attention, or labor of any one, as his principal concern
      or interest, whether for a longer or shorter time;
      constant employment; regular occupation; as, the business
      of life; business before pleasure.

            Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's
            business?                             --Luke ii. 49.

   2. Any particular occupation or employment engaged in for
      livelihood or gain, as agriculture, trade, art, or a
      profession. ``The business of instruction.'' --Prescott.

   3. Financial dealings; buying and selling; traffic in
      general; mercantile transactions.

            It seldom happens that men of a studious turn
            acquire any degree of reputation for their knowledge
            of business.                          --Bp. Popteus.

   4. That which one has to do or should do; special service,
      duty, or mission.

            The daughter of the King of France, On serious
            business, craving quick despatch, Importunes
            personal conference.                  --Shak.

            What business has the tortoise among the clouds?
                                                  --L'Estrange.

   5. Affair; concern; matter; -- used in an indefinite sense,
      and modified by the connected words.

            It was a gentle business, and becoming The action of
            good women.                           --Shak.

            Bestow Your needful counsel to our business. --Shak.

   6. (Drama) The position, distribution, and order of persons
      and properties on the stage of a theater, as determined by
      the stage manager in rehearsal.

   7. Care; anxiety; diligence. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

   {To do one's business}, to ruin one. [Colloq.] --Wycherley.

   {To make (a thing) one's business}, to occupy one's self with
      a thing as a special charge or duty. [Colloq.]

   {To mean business}, to be earnest. [Colloq.]

   Syn: Affairs; concern; transaction; matter; engagement;
        employment; calling; occupation; trade; profession;
        vocation; office; duty.