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

A lot of that hinges on how Tréca Paris connects with the final consumer, rather than focusing on a business-to-business model, to which the company has previously been accustomed. —Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 12 Mar. 2026

The 3% tax on business-to-business IT and data services was expected to generate $500 million, but initial numbers reviewed by Maryland Matters show collection is off by as much as 90%. —Bryan P. Sears, Baltimore Sun, 12 Mar. 2026

Paugh also noted how Williams has gone beyond traditional logo placement with its business-to-business partnerships and deepened those relationships. —Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 7 Mar. 2026

With Anthropic's business-to-business model (B2B), anything is magically possible. —Jim Cramer, CNBC, 8 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for business-to-business

• agribusiness
• business
• nonbusiness