proprietary

[ pruh-prahy-i-ter-ee ]

/ prəˈpraɪ ɪˌtɛr i /

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See synonyms for proprietary on Thesaurus.com

adjective

belonging to a proprietor.

being a proprietor; holding property: the proprietary class.

pertaining to property or ownership: proprietary wealth.

belonging or controlled as property.

(of a brand name, product, service, formula, etc.) protected by a patent, copyright, or trademark: proprietary drugs; a proprietary name; a proprietary logo; a proprietary blend of ingredients.

privately owned and operated for profit: proprietary hospitals.

noun, plural pro·pri·e·tar·ies.

an owner or proprietor.

a body of proprietors.

American History. the grantee or owner, or one of the grantees or owners, of a proprietary colony.

ownership.

something owned, especially real estate.

a proprietary medicine.

Also called proprietary school . a school organized as a profit-making venture primarily to teach vocational skills or self-improvement techniques.

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Origin of proprietary

1400–50; late Middle English (noun) <Medieval Latin proprietārius owner, noun use of Late Latin: of an owner, of ownership. See propriety, -ary

OTHER WORDS FROM proprietary

pro·pri·e·tar·i·ly

[pruh-prahy-i-tair-i-lee, -prahy-i-ter-], /prəˌpraɪ ɪˈtɛər ɪ li, -ˈpraɪ ɪˌtɛr-/, adverbnon·pro·pri·e·tar·y, adjective, noun, plural non·pro·pri·e·tar·ies.

Words nearby proprietary

propoxur, propoxyphene, propr., propraetor, propranolol, proprietary, proprietary colony, proprietary name, proprietor, proprietress, proprietrix

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use proprietary in a sentence

Disney uses Google’s ad server for its non-Hulu properties, while Hulu has its own proprietary ad server.
‘No way to properly manage frequency on two ad servers’: The ad tech hitch in Disney’s and ViacomCBS’s streaming upfront pitches|Tim Peterson|August 27, 2020|Digiday
This can be difficult to achieve in machine learning, particularly for proprietary design cases.
Participation-washing could be the next dangerous fad in machine learning|Amy Nordrum|August 25, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Some of these, such as the proprietary PECO filtration technology used by Molekule, are widely vetted.
Can an air purifier help protect you from COVID-19?|dzanemorris|August 22, 2020|Fortune
China, meanwhile, continues to lock out international companies that refuse to play by its rules—such as agreeing to censor search engine results, provide authorities with data on users, or hand over software source code and other proprietary data.
Covid-19 and the geopolitics of American decline|Katie McLean|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review

Adoption could become broad-based as the process for this test doesn’t require proprietary materials.
What makes the latest coronavirus testing process, developed by Yale, so promising|Sy Mukherjee|August 18, 2020|Fortune
Yet by equating their engineering with Teutonic rigor the Germans have created the impression of an exclusive proprietary quality.
Nationalism on Four Wheels|Clive Irving|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Volcker Rule, a component of the far-reaching Dodd-Frank law, required large banks to cut back on proprietary trading.
The Incredible 'Wussiness' Of The Fed Vs Goldman Sachs—Caught On Tape|Daniel Gross|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That data is available only to publishers through their vendors and is proprietary unless released to the public.
Hillary’s Book Sales Are Weak by Clinton Standards|Jason Pinter|June 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nor did Microsoft transform its proprietary operating system into open-source code.
Tesla’s Radical Patent Move is a Plot to Take Over the Road|Daniel Gross|June 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The company created customized mixtapes at the point-of-sale with its own proprietary technology.
Apple Wants Beats So It Can Control You|Ted Gioia|May 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Their constitutions differed in various points; in some the governor was appointed by the crown, in others by the proprietary.
The Political History of England - Vol. X.|William Hunt
He walked across the room to my lad—I was now beginning to feel a proprietary interest in him—and seized him roughly by the arm.
A Little Union Scout|Joel Chandler Harris
Yet it is advertised to physicians as an ethical proprietary and is evidently being prescribed by them.
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2|Various
This product is another of the patent-medicine–ethical-proprietary type of nostrums.
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2|Various
The proprietary Chologen is interesting some of our readers and several have sent us samples and literature.
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2|Various

British Dictionary definitions for proprietary

proprietary

/ (prəˈpraɪɪtərɪ, -trɪ) /

adjective

of, relating to, or belonging to property or proprietors

privately owned and controlled

med of or denoting a drug or agent manufactured and distributed under a trade nameCompare ethical (def. 3)

noun plural -taries

med a proprietary drug or agent

a proprietor or proprietors collectively

right to property
property owned

Also called: lord proprietary (in Colonial America) an owner, governor, or grantee of a proprietary colony

Derived forms of proprietary

proprietarily, adverb

Word Origin for proprietary

C15: from Late Latin proprietārius an owner, from proprius one's own

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

proprietary

Origin of proprietary

OTHER WORDS FROM proprietary

Words nearby proprietary

Words related to proprietary

How to use proprietary in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for proprietary

Derived forms of proprietary

Word Origin for proprietary