1 zaibatsu | Definition of zaibatsu
Logo
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

zaibatsu

noun
zai·​bat·​su | \ ËŒzÄ«-ˈbät-ËŒsü How to pronounce zaibatsu (audio) \

Definition of zaibatsu

: a powerful financial and industrial conglomerate of Japan

Did You Know?

Zaibatsu is a compound formed by the Japanese words zai, meaning "money" or "wealth," and batsu, meaning "clique" or "clan." The word refers to one of several large capitalist enterprises that developed in Japan after the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and that expanded rapidly during World War I. Each zaibatsu was typically organized around a single family and controlled interests in multiple areas, such as mining, foreign trade, textiles, insurance, and especially banks. While zaibatsus were dissolved during the Allied occupation of Japan following World War II (around the time the word entered English), many of the individual companies that comprised them continued to be managed as they had been, and the term has survived.

First Known Use of zaibatsu

1947, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for zaibatsu

Japanese zai money, wealth + batsu clique, clan

Keep scrolling for more

More from Merriam-Webster on zaibatsu

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about zaibatsu

WORD OF THE DAY

See Definitions and Examples

Get Word of the Day daily email!