entrepreneur
Americannoun
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a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.
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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
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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.
“We co-led the Series A with Eric from Benchmark and the company started in our Entrepreneur in Residence/incubation space on the second floor of our old office,” Vassallo said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
Entrepreneur RK Misra, co-founder of a multimillion-dollar start-up, avoids scheduling in-person meetings until nearly noon -- then squeezes them in before gridlock returns.
From Barron's • Nov. 27, 2025
Entrepreneur Max Daily, semi-famous in San Diego for running the pop-up Oslo Sardine Bar, has announced plans to open an eatery on Old Highway 80 with a stage for live music.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 24, 2024
Entrepreneur Vibushan Thirukumar has set up hubs called Oru Space in Sutton and East Dulwich in south London.
From BBC • Nov. 8, 2023
Entrepreneur and Capitalist.—As was stated in an earlier chapter, an actual employer nearly always furnishes some of the capital that he uses.
From Essentials of Economic Theory As Applied to Modern Problems of Industry and Public Policy by Clark, John Bates
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.
