Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A Japanese conglomerate, especially a powerful family-controlled monopoly before World War II.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun economics Japanese term for ‘money clique’ or conglomerate, and sometimes used in the United States to refer to any large corporation.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Japanese : zai, wealth (from Early Middle Chinese dzəj; also the source of Mandarin cái) + batsu, powerful person or family (from Early Middle Chinese buat; also the source of Mandarin ).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Japanese 財閥 zaibatsu.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word zaibatsu.

Examples

  • 12: 47: Facebook friend saves life of suicidal teenager from the other side of the Atlantic zaibatsu 12: 49: RT @zaibatsu:

    Megite Technology News: What's Happening Right Now 2009

  • Korea, which was a Japanese colony for most of the first half of this century, took the family-network practice from Japan, where it was called zaibatsu until the holding companies were disbanded by General MacArthur at the end of World War II.

    No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003

  • Korea, which was a Japanese colony for most of the first half of this century, took the family-network practice from Japan, where it was called zaibatsu until the holding companies were disbanded by General MacArthur at the end of World War II.

    No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003

  • Korea, which was a Japanese colony for most of the first half of this century, took the family-network practice from Japan, where it was called zaibatsu until the holding companies were disbanded by General MacArthur at the end of World War II.

    No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003

  • Korea, which was a Japanese colony for most of the first half of this century, took the family-network practice from Japan, where it was called zaibatsu until the holding companies were disbanded by General MacArthur at the end of World War II.

    No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003

  • General Electric CFO: 'Best Earnings Outlook In The Last 10 Years' NRC: Glossary -- International Nuclear Regulators Association INRA 1GTIJPDossNxN2o7ox13pNFpdqmJf0y5x1XB%2FqXeNvEGldUpysBKd827PbsmgTxY7ss64c%2BXioEdKPHo6dEYcmuGPkGMeh8o Obama Administration, State Officials Expected To Give Banks New Mortgage Terms zaibatsu

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com The Huffington Post News Editors 2011

  • The company is one of the four original Japanese "zaibatsu", family-controlled giant holding companies, known as "keiretsu" after their break-ups after the war.

    Steve Parker: Mitsubishi Motors: Just Who Are They, Anyway? 2010

  • Now, however, the Vitter amendment would break down the 1970 restrictions which, as President Nixon noted at the time, protected the US system from the anti-market practices inherent in Japan's "zaibatsu" style banking structure.

    SAFER: The Vitter Amendment Breaches the Banking/Commerce Barrier 2010

  • Japan failed to break the economic stranglehold of the "zaibatsu", the family owned monopoly conglomerates that dominated the pre-war Japanese economy.

    ANC Today 2004

  • We have already quoted Selden as saying that the US occupation authorities in Japan failed to break the economic stranglehold of the "zaibatsu", the family owned monopoly conglomerates that dominated the pre-war Japanese economy.

    ANC Today 2004

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.