proprietor

American  

[pruh-prahy-i-ter] / prəˈpraɪ ɪ tər /

noun

• proprietors
  plural

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.

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proprietor British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• proprietors
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of proprietor

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

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Explanation

Someone who owns a business or a property is a proprietor. A bookstore proprietor might wish she became a librarian instead so the books would come back. The first part of proprietor sounds a lot like "property," and a proprietor is someone with ownership of property. Sometimes a proprietor oversees the business, such as a restaurant proprietor who is also a chef or hostess, and other times a proprietor owns many businesses and has different people running them. A proprietor of a local bakery might make and sell his own donuts, while the proprietor of a chain of donut shops might work from an office managing the people who manage the stores.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

proprietor proprietors

The restaurant's proprietor Ricky McMenemy, who has worked there for 35 years, will become a commercial tenant of the conservation charity.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Real-life proprietor Andrea Pruett, a sweet but steely Southerner who kept her own gun behind the counter, greeted them in French and German, then fed them buffalo burgers and omelets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

A sole proprietor earning $60,000, for example, may be able to contribute as both employee and employer, plus make an age 50 catch-up contribution.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

Word quickly spread around Poultney as locals started googling the new proprietor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Thirteen miles southeast of Washington, John Lloyd, the proprietor of Surratt’s tavern, went to bed.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

The change would be even harder for landscapers who work as sole proprietors, with a single vehicle and limited space for charging and storing equipment.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

They play Bertha and Seth Holley, the married proprietors of the boarding house.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026

Bucket shop patrons were positioned heavily for Amalgamated to rise, so the proprietors shorted the stock “to establish as low a quotation as possible,” the Journal wrote.

From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026

Once upon a time, western icon John Wayne would swing by and always sit in the same booth tucked in the back, according to the proprietors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2025

White proprietors who cater exclusively to Negro trade stood in doorways and solicited us.

From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin

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