entrepreneur

American  

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

noun

plural

entrepreneurs

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.

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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

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entrepreneur Cultural  

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

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Other Word Forms

• entrepreneurial adjective
• entrepreneurship noun

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; 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

It’s the first release in a new model series developed by Meta Superintelligence Labs, the division overseen by billionaire entrepreneur Alexandr Wang, who came onboard in June 2025.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

A British Bitcoin entrepreneur has told the BBC he is not the digital currency's mysterious inventor after a New York Times article named him as its creator.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

Those types of arguments have elicited salty responses from Huang, tech entrepreneur Adam Miller and conservative reality TV personality Spencer Pratt.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

The 43-year-old British entrepreneur is coming out with a book, Start With Yourself, that she says will “dismantle the lies that women have been sold” about work-life balance and ambition.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

“The prodigy, yeah. He’s a real entrepreneur, if you catch me.”

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz

Related Words

• administrator
• contractor
• executive
• manager
• producer