entrepreneur
Americannoun
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a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.
-
an employer of productive labor; contractor.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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the owner or manager of a business enterprise who, by risk and initiative, attempts to make profits
-
a middleman or commercial intermediary
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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; see 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.
Vocabulary lists containing entrepreneur
A Raisin in the Sun
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Fast Food Nation
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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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.
The party also declared a further £1.1m in donations from biotech entrepreneur David Grainger.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
The billionaire entrepreneur referenced high costs at the La Cañada Flintridge institution in a memo prepared in advance of his confirmation hearings on his priorities for the space agency.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026
Valentine’s Day, along with a partnership with entrepreneur and influencer Hailey Bieber, helped sales during the company’s first quarter, the company said.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 2, 2026
An entrepreneur featured on Going Public —the investor show promoted by Elon Musk’s X last year as a tentpole of its original-content strategy—has been indicted on allegations of fraud connected to his real estate business.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
I was visiting Amado Ramirez Leyva, the entrepreneur behind the tortilla store.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
