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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 /

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

The patron who returned the magazine, John, said it had been "hanging around" his house for decades, but he had no idea how it ended up in his home.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Sir William Napier continued providing him with an annual allowance, and Byfield traveled to London when his longtime patron died in 1860.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

When CPL buys an item, its system records the retail price; when a patron checks it out, that amount gets added to the running total.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

Yet posterity knows this patron saint of the college English major as the father of economics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

On top of his dash was a plastic statue of Saint Christopher, patron saint of travelers.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

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

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

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

Many restaurants and patrons alike are pushing back against the shift that has turned collegial, communal spaces into places to watch TikTok while you eat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

My husband enjoyed humble pleasures, and he had two favorite fast-casual restaurants where the food was good, the patrons were kind, and the staff were simply salt-of-the-earth people.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

“My work is predominantly Latinos — that we’re queer is part of that,” said the 62-year-old, who also snapped moody shots of patrons, often lovers, inside the bathroom stalls.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

"In the 1840 narrative, Byfield sought to impress wealthy patrons by presenting himself as a dutiful soldier and deserving veteran," O'Keeffe says.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

Other patrons pass by on their way from one part of the circus to another, too absorbed in their conversations to notice him contemplating a postcard-size tag by the side of a tent.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Related Words

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