proprietary

American  

[pruh-prahy-i-ter-ee] / prəˈpraɪ ɪˌtɛr i /

adjective

1. belonging to a proprietor.

2. being a proprietor; holding property.

   the proprietary class.

3. pertaining to property or ownership.

   proprietary wealth.

4. belonging or controlled as property.

5. (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.

6. privately owned and operated for profit.

   proprietary hospitals.

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noun

plural

proprietaries

1. an owner or proprietor.

2. a body of proprietors.

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

4. ownership.

5. something owned, especially real estate.

6. a proprietary medicine.

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

proprietary British  

/ prəˈpraɪɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to property or proprietors

2. privately owned and controlled

3. med of or denoting a drug or agent manufactured and distributed under a trade name Compare ethical

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noun

1. med a proprietary drug or agent

2. a proprietor or proprietors collectively

3. 1. right to property

   2. property owned

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

Other Word Forms

• nonproprietary adjective
• proprietarily adverb

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

One big advantage for the company is that it sits on a substantial amount of proprietary enterprise and consumer data, Lee said in a Tuesday note.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

Security is anchored in a proprietary protocol and server technology that runs entirely in RAM to ensure all data is wiped upon reboot.

From Salon • Mar. 30, 2026

Just last September, the company launched TuneLab, a machine learning platform that allows external biotechs to access Lilly’s proprietary drug discovery models.

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

Chief among them is getting the right mix of calcium oxide and its proprietary binding agent, so the pellets effectively store energy while holding their shape over many charge-discharge cycles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

She came in with such a proprietary haste and looked around so possessively at the furniture that I wondered if she lived here.

From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Related Words

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