proprietor
Americannoun
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the owner of a business establishment, a hotel, etc.
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a person who has the exclusive right or title to something; an owner, as of real property.
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a group of proprietors; proprietary.
noun
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an owner of an unincorporated business enterprise
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a person enjoying exclusive right of ownership to some property
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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.
Vocabulary lists containing proprietor
Chains
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"We are suffering a lot," said Kishor Dulera, a tile unit proprietor who closed this factory and two others in early March, sending hundreds of workers home.
From Barron's • Mar. 29, 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
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
Family and friends were able to support borrowers through new, so-called joint borrower, sole proprietor mortgages.
From BBC • Jan. 12, 2026
“Around here,” according to the proprietor of one Garden City hardware store, “locks and bolts are the fastest-going item. Folks ain’t particular what brand they buy; they just want them to hold.”
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.