capitalist
Americannoun
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a person who has capital, especially extensive capital, invested in business enterprises.
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an advocate of capitalism.
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a very wealthy person.
noun
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a person who owns capital, esp capital invested in a business
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politics a supporter of capitalism
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informal a rich person
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of capitalist
Explanation
Someone who hopes to profit by investing money or financing business ventures is a capitalist. A nation's economy is described as capitalist if it's based on private ownership and profit. The word capitalist appeared in 1791, taken from the French word capitaliste. A capitalist is someone who believes in the economic philosophy of Capitalism, a system of privately-owned, for-profit businesses. A capitalist might believe in free enterprise and the individual’s ability to gain wealth through intelligence and hard work. Capitalist can also be used to describe a self-interested, every-man-for-himself approach to the world.
Vocabulary lists containing capitalist
East Asia - Middle School
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East Asia - High School
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Russia - Middle School and High School
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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.
Venture capitalist Jenny Stojkovic hired her son as a baby model for her media company shortly after he was born.
From MarketWatch • May 26, 2026
Miller Levy’s venture-capital firm, backed by veteran venture capitalist Alan Patricof, 91, is in the thick of it.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
LinkedIn co-founder and venture capitalist Reid Hoffman described AI as a "transformation" of "cognitive excellence".
From BBC • May 18, 2026
For the S&P 500, he said this market concentration is just a reflection of the capitalist environment these companies are operating in.
From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026
Hanawon was built in 1999 by the Ministry of Unification to house, feed, and teach North Korean defectors how to adjust and survive in the South’s ultracompetitive capitalist culture.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
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.
