proprietor

[pruh-prahy-i-ter]

noun

1. the owner of a business establishment, a hotel, etc.

2. a person who has the exclusive right or title to something; an owner, as of real property.

3. a group of proprietors; proprietary.

proprietor

/ prəˌpraɪəˈtɔːrɪəl, prəˈpraɪətə /

noun

1. an owner of an unincorporated business enterprise

2. a person enjoying exclusive right of ownership to some property

3. history a governor or body of governors of a proprietary colony

Other Word Forms

• proprietorial adjective
• proprietorially adverb
• proprietorship noun
• nonproprietor noun
• proprietress noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of proprietor¹

First recorded in 1630–40; propriet(ary) + -or ²

Example Sentences

In any case, increasing traffic is the understandable goal of the shop’s proprietor, Ning, who readers follow through a typical, typically long workday.

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Step inside her living room, and the vast collection of antiques feels like entering the former Encino Antique Center, where she was once the proprietor during the 1990s.

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Its proprietors wear bedazzled cowboy hats, which cast a shadow on their all-white uniforms.

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Jimmy John Liautaud, the billionaire proprietor of the sandwich chain Jimmy John’s and a serial yacht owner, is also a serial workaholic.

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Siegel relayed a story about an old-timer saying the original owner — a proprietor named Margie — wouldn’t seat him until he donned a coat and tie.

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