proprietor

American  

[pruh-prahy-i-ter] / prəˈpraɪ ɪ tər /

noun

1. the owner of a business establishment, a hotel, etc.

2. a person who has the exclusive right or title to something; an owner, as of real property.

3. a group of proprietors; proprietary.

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proprietor British  

/ prəˌpraɪəˈtɔːrɪəl, prəˈpraɪətə /

noun

1. an owner of an unincorporated business enterprise

2. a person enjoying exclusive right of ownership to some property

3. history a governor or body of governors of a proprietary colony

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Other Word Forms

• nonproprietor
  noun
• proprietorial
  adjective
• proprietorially
  adverb
• proprietorship
  noun
• proprietress
  noun

Etymology

Origin of proprietor

First recorded in 1630–40; propriet(ary) + -or ²

Explanation

Someone who owns a business or a property is a proprietor. A bookstore proprietor might wish she became a librarian instead so the books would come back. The first part of proprietor sounds a lot like "property," and a proprietor is someone with ownership of property. Sometimes a proprietor oversees the business, such as a restaurant proprietor who is also a chef or hostess, and other times a proprietor owns many businesses and has different people running them. A proprietor of a local bakery might make and sell his own donuts, while the proprietor of a chain of donut shops might work from an office managing the people who manage the stores.

Example Sentences

The proprietor of Los Angeles’ legendary Clifton’s has given up on reopening the shuttered venue.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2026

From a technical standpoint, Brent rising to $200 or even $240 a barrel is “becoming more likely,” Andrew Addison, proprietor of the Institutional View research service said in a note Sunday.

From Barron's • Mar. 9, 2026

The same could be said of Lesli Margherita’s Mrs. Lovett, the proprietor of a filthy and failing Fleet Street pie shop, but it’s a shakier case.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026

Family and friends were able to support borrowers through new, so-called joint borrower, sole proprietor mortgages.

From BBC • Jan. 12, 2026

When I presented myself to the Jewish proprietor of the movie house I was immediately accepted.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright