entrepreneur
Americannoun
plural
entrepreneurs-
a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.
-
an employer of productive labor; contractor.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
the owner or manager of a business enterprise who, by risk and initiative, attempts to make profits
-
a middleman or commercial intermediary
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of entrepreneur
First recorded in 1875–80; from French: literally, “one who undertakes (some task),” equivalent to entrepren(dre) “to undertake” (from Latin inter- inter- + prendere “to take,” variant of prehendere ) + -eur -eur; see enterprise
Explanation
An entrepreneur is someone who starts a new business. Little stores and huge companies both have entrepreneurs behind them. Do you have good ideas for products? Are you OK with the idea of risk? Then maybe you should be an entrepreneur. This is someone who founds a business, whether a tiny one or a huge one. Besides starting the business, the entrepreneur takes on the most of the risk by investing their own money and/or bringing in other investors. For an entrepreneur, their business is their baby.
Vocabulary lists containing entrepreneur
A Raisin in the Sun
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Fast Food Nation
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun is another previous winner.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
Whirlpool’s origin stretches back to 1911, when entrepreneur Lou Upton founded a company to sell electrified wringer-washing machines.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
The author is an entrepreneur and working on a book about overcoming betrayal.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026
The year before, billionaire Bill Ackman was invited for a friendly Q&A after hounding Harvard’s president out of office, and grievance-fueled media entrepreneur Bari Weiss presented a rallying plug for her Substack.
From Slate • May 8, 2026
As an initial step, they were pleased to find an ally in a black small-time newspaper editor and entrepreneur, Richard E. Parker.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
