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.

Source : WordNet®

business
     n 1: a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who
          constitute it; "he bought his brother's business"; "a
          small mom-and-pop business"; "a racially integrated
          business concern" [syn: {concern}, {business concern}, {business
          organization}, {business organisation}]
     2: the activity of providing goods and services involving
        financial and commercial and industrial aspects;
        "computers are now widely used in business" [syn: {commercial
        enterprise}, {business enterprise}]
     3: business concerns collectively; "Government and business
        could not agree" [syn: {business sector}]
     4: the volume of business activity; "business is good today";
        "show me where the business was today"
     5: a rightful concern or responsibility; "it's none of your
        business"; "mind your own business"
     6: the principal activity in your life that you do to earn
        money; "he's not in my line of business" [syn: {occupation},
         {job}, {line of work}, {line}]
     7: an immediate objective; "gossip was the main business of the
        evening"
     8: incidental activity performed by an actor for dramatic
        effect; "his business with the cane was hilarious" [syn: {stage
        business}, {byplay}]
     9: customers collectively; "they have an upper class clientele"
        [syn: {clientele}, {patronage}]