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.

---

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

---

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

One person moved by the tale was Morris Michtom, the proprietor of a Brooklyn, N.Y., candy store and newsstand.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 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

Current proprietor Yau Yiu-wai, 73, announced earlier this month that his 183-year-old family business would close its doors at year's end.

From Barron's • Dec. 27, 2025

When we arrived it was quite empty, except for a policeman sitting near the door, the wife of the proprietor back of the zinc bar, and the proprietor himself.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway