entrepreneur

American  

[ahn-truh-pruh-nur, -noor, ahn-truh-pruh-nœr] / ˌɑn trə prəˈnɜr, -ˈnʊər, ɑ̃ trə prəˈnœr /

noun

entrepreneurs plural

1. a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.

2. an employer of productive labor; contractor.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to deal with or initiate as an entrepreneur.

verb (used without object)

1. to act as an entrepreneur.

entrepreneur British  

/ ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜː, ɑ̃trəprənœr /

noun

1. the owner or manager of a business enterprise who, by risk and initiative, attempts to make profits

2. a middleman or commercial intermediary

---

entrepreneur Cultural  

1. One who starts a business or other venture that promises economic gain but that also entails risks.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• entrepreneurship
  noun
• entrepreneurial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• entrepreneurs
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

entrepreneur entrepreneurs

Los Angeles-based investment firm Content Partners and media entrepreneur Ed Simpson announced Tuesday that they are launching a new company, Wonderloom Media, that will acquire YouTube-creator led businesses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

From timber and textiles to minerals, Indian entrepreneur Gagan Gupta has spent the past 15 years working to industrialise Africa.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

During that time, the technology entrepreneur has maintained a tight grip on owning Blue Origin, investing his own funds into the company instead of seeking money from investors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

He is a former technology entrepreneur, co-founder of the Ecocivilization Coalition, and founder of the Deep Transformation Network.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

That doesn’t mean he isn’t brilliant or an extraordinary entrepreneur.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

Wonderloom, based in L.A., also will assist entrepreneurs who started YouTube channels grow their businesses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

“California’s workers, entrepreneurs, and innovators continue to prove that investing in California delivers real results,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement last week in response to strong productivity numbers for the state.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

In a nod to business leaders, he has promised to shield entrepreneurs "from an unbearable fiscal and regulatory straitjacket".

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

Johnson saw himself and his business as part of an ecosystem of Black entrepreneurs that was mutually supportive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Professors could only envy the millions pocketed by radio entrepreneurs from the discoveries of those pioneers of electromagnetism Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell, who had claimed no patents and earned nothing.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• administrator
• contractor
• executive
• manager
• producer