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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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.
Elon Musk's SpaceX was set to begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange Friday with the biggest initial public offering in history expected to make the polarizing entrepreneur the world's first trillionaire.
From Barron's • Jun. 12, 2026
The company is run by a serial entrepreneur with a history of bankruptcy and lawsuits alleging fraud.
From Salon • Jun. 11, 2026
Noory, a 41-year-old fintech entrepreneur, spent years listening to Musk’s video and podcast interviews.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
A relentlessly driven, shrewd dealmaker and entrepreneur, Allen is used to defying skeptics and seeing opportunity in assets overlooked by others.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
“The prodigy, yeah. He’s a real entrepreneur, if you catch me.”
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
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.
