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

An affable, hyper-knowledgeable proprietor in his early 30s, Richardson repairs and resells analog music technology from the 1980s or earlier.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

That moment came back to me a couple of weeks ago, thanks to an online post by Josh Marshall, founder and proprietor of the estimable blog talkingpointsmemo.com.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026

But it’s easy to see why a proprietor might hesitate, since a “Pistols Welcome” banner might alienate other customers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 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

I shall write sonatas en trio; and Slant perhaps shall be proprietor of his own plantation.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson