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

FedEx Freight, on the other hand, provides less-than-truckload services — this is more business-to-business shipments that are too big for parcel delivery, but not large enough to require an entire trailer. — Jeff Marks, CNBC, 1 July 2026

For years, niche business-to-business media brands were viewed by many investors as legacy businesses slowly being disrupted by social media, creator platforms and changing advertising habits. — Simon Corbett, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026

Moreover, China’s business-to-business (B&B) market is characterized by a low willingness to pay for services; firms routinely build software tools in-house rather than buy them. — Joe Ngai, Fortune, 16 June 2026

In the Middle East, Vita has a partnership with the Chalhoub Group and said the region could become meaningful for both direct-to-consumer and business-to-business projects once the Iran war subsides and traffic returns to more normal levels. — Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 5 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for business-to-business

• agribusiness
• business
• nonbusiness