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• patron
  patron

  noun

  a person who is a customer, client, or paying guest, especially a regular one, of a store, hotel, or the like.
• patrón
  patrón

  noun

  (in Mexico and the southwestern U.S.) a boss; employer.

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The Medici were famous patrons in which Italian city?

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patron

¹ American  

[pey-truhn] / ˈpeɪ trən /

noun

• patrons
  plural

1. a person who is a customer, client, or paying guest, especially a regular one, of a store, hotel, or the like.

2. a person who supports with money, gifts, efforts, or endorsement an artist, writer, museum, cause, charity, institution, special event, or the like.

   a patron of the arts; patrons of the annual Democratic dance.

3. a person whose support or protection is solicited or acknowledged by the dedication of a book or other work.

4. patron saint.

5. Roman History. the protector of a dependent or client, often the former master of a freedman still retaining certain rights over him.

6. Ecclesiastical. a person who has the right of presenting a member of the clergy to a benefice.

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patrón ² American  

[pah-trawn] / pɑˈtrɔn /

noun

Spanish.

• patrones
  plural

1. (in Mexico and the southwestern U.S.) a boss; employer.

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patron ¹ British  

/ ˈpeɪtrən, pəˈtrəʊnəl /

noun

1. a person, esp a man, who sponsors or aids artists, charities, etc; protector or benefactor

2. a customer of a shop, hotel, etc, esp a regular one

3. See patron saint

4. (in ancient Rome) the protector of a dependant or client, often the former master of a freedman still retaining certain rights over him

5. Christianity a person or body having the right to present a clergyman to a benefice

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patron ² British  

/ patrɔ̃ /

noun

1. a man, who owns or manages a hotel, restaurant, or bar

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patron ³ British  

/ ˈpætərn /

noun

1. a variant spelling of pattern 2

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• patrondom
  noun
• patronship
  noun
• patronal
  adjective
• patronless
  adjective
• patronly
  adjective
• subpatronal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• patrones
  plural
• patrons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of patron¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Medieval Latin, Latin patrōnus “legal protector, advocate” ( Medieval Latin: “lord, master”), derivative of pater “father”; see pattern

Origin of patrón²

First recorded in 1860–65; from Spanish; see patron ( def. )

Explanation

A patron supports someone or something. A patron of a business supports the business by being a loyal customer. A patron of the arts helps support starving artists — financially, not with food rations. The word patron comes from the Latin pater or patr- meaning "father." Think of how a father is supposed to financially support his kids. A patron of the arts is someone who shows his appreciation or support for the arts by donating money to arts organizations. And a patron of the Red Lobster is a frequent customer who can be seen in the same corner booth every Sunday night, noshing on cheddar biscuits.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

patron patrón patrones patrons

A patron of more than a decade, he first went to the diner on a Valentine’s Day because he was drawn to the giant red heart sign that looms over the restaurant.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

The Catholic church is deeply entrenched in Poland's national identity and the Virgin Mary is considered the country's patron and protector, even as it undergoes one of the fastest rates of secularisation worldwide.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

King Charles, who became patron of the RHS in 2024, and the Queen presented awards including to a display called The Queen Bee made from upcycled containers – with tin can bees.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

Analysts said the visit was an effort to reassert that Beijing, not Moscow, remains North Korea’s principal patron.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Polycrates was a generous patron of the arts, sciences and engineering.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

The year she was killed, Blanco was played by Luces Velásquez in the Colombian telenovela “Pablo Escobar, el patrón del mal.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2024

At first the company’s cash payments, infrastructure projects and job offers seemed like a good alternative to the old way of life under a land-owning patrón.

From Washington Post

Benito's patrón would not welcome us with empty pockets.

From Rebel Spurs by Andre Norton

Polo pros and local patrones describe Villegas as a good-natured man who never lost his temper, even during rough-and-tumble matches.

From Time Magazine Archive

Villegas and Cummings met two years ago at the Willow Run Polo school, a magnet for the Argentine players, many of whom are boarded on farms owned by the people they call their patrones.

From Time Magazine Archive

Whilest they and their patrones for them, require dominion and empire aboue men.

From The First Blast of the Trumpet against the monstrous regiment of Women by Edward Arber

But of the xii. other vertues I make xii. other knights the patrones, for the more variety of the history: of which these three bookes contayn three.

From Prefaces and Prologues to Famous Books with Introductions, Notes and Illustrations by Charles William Eliot

But of the xii. other vertues, I 130 make xii. other knights the patrones, for the more variety 131 of the history: Of which these three bookes contayn three.

From The Faerie Queene — Volume 01 by Edmund Spenser

On any typical day, Alexis Sicairos and his girlfriend have a line of patrons waiting to order a banana buzz latte or a cloud matcha at their Los Angeles coffee stand.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

In the summer of 1954, the house band, Buzz Busby and the Bayou Boys, began to cause a stir, drawing a steady stream of patrons who came to listen to the music instead of brawl.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

"I felt terrible," he said, full of regret that he did not tell patrons to evacuate at the first sign of fire.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

His sister said the patrons were like an extended family.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

She takes his offered arm and they walk together along the twisting pathways, through the dwindling crowd of patrons.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Related Words

• advocate
• backer
• benefactor
• fan
• friend
• leader
• philanthropist
• sponsor
• supporter
• well-wisher