shareholder
Americannoun
-
shareholders
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of shareholder
Explanation
A shareholder is someone who holds stock in a company. Shareholders partially own a company and can make more money when it does well. When you share, you're using or enjoying something with others. Similarly, shareholders own shares — also known as stocks — in a company, so the shareholders all own a little piece of the company. Therefore, shareholders want the company to succeed, so their shares will be worth more money. If one shareholder owns more than 50% of the shares, that person can control the company. Otherwise, the shareholders will have to work together to make decisions.
Vocabulary lists containing shareholder
Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - High School
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - Middle School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Industrial Revolution - Middle School and High School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
The board chair and CEO is personally suing his largest individual shareholder, who is also his father.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
In late July, Ford withheld his votes for the entire board at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, which would mean three directors didn’t get a majority of votes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
He said he would leave the position by his 70th birthday at the end of July and remain chairman of the board of directors and Apollo’s largest shareholder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
Black remains Apollo’s largest shareholder, with some 85 million shares worth around $11 billion these days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
He became Avant!’s single largest shareholder; he pressed management for changes.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Membership of Dol-llys, apart from those renting, is on a loan stock basis with the community being equal shareholders, and residents pay a monthly service charge for group expenses and projects.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
Element said the strategic and financial rationale of the deal was compelling, but opted to listen to shareholders who said they preferred the current setup of its management team and portfolio.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
In common with most companies involved in the buildout of AI infrastructure, Alibaba’s shareholders are being forced to weigh up whether the eventual payback will reward the upfront investment.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
CEOs — even as 84% of shareholders rejected it and a Paramount sale nears an $887-million exit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Washington Mutual followed, and was unceremoniously seized by the Treasury, wiping out both its creditors and its shareholders entirely.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
