business-to-business

noun

busi·​ness-to-busi·​ness ˈbiz-nəs-tə-ˈbiz-nəs 

: a sector of business activity that focuses on commerce performed between businesses rather than between a business and a consumer

a company that specializes in business-to-business

Business-to-business, the sale of goods and services to other companies rather than to the public, has flourished for centuries.

—Joanne Legomsky

—usually used before another noun

Business-to-business sales rose 4.4% from a year earlier, but retail sales increased less than 1%.

—The Wall Street Journal

business-to-business companies

the business-to-business market

—abbreviation B2B

Examples of business-to-business in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While nearly all Americans have heard of artificial intelligence, most adults still see it as a mysterious technology primarily designed for business-to-business applications rather than something that directly benefits individual consumers. —Jon Stojan, USA Today, 13 May 2025

But the analyst said Shopify’s efforts to build up its business-to-business while also growing market share are examples of the company’s multitude of avenues for growth. —Brian Evans, CNBC, 6 May 2025

However, private data brokers that sell datasets B2B (business-to-business) require a little more digging. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 1 May 2025

Email is still the cornerstone of business-to-business (B2B) marketing. —Paula Chiocchi, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for business-to-business

• agribusiness
• business
• nonbusiness