publisher

American  

[puhb-li-sher] / ˈpʌb lɪ ʃər /

noun

• publishers
  plural

1. a person or company whose business is the publishing of books, periodicals, engravings, computer software, etc.

2. the business head of a newspaper organization or publishing house, commonly the owner or the representative of the owner.

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publisher British  

/ ˈpʌblɪʃə /

noun

1. a company or person engaged in publishing periodicals, books, music, etc

2. the proprietor of a newspaper or his representative

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• publishers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of publisher

1425–75; late Middle English: one who proclaims publicly; see publish, -er ¹

Explanation

A builder builds. A dancer dances. A publisher publishes — which is to say, oversees the printing, editing and, most importantly, the selling of books, magazines, websites, and even music. It's a matter of debate who is more important at a magazine, the editor or the publisher, but I'm sure you could get convincing arguments for either. The editor is in charge of content, while the publisher runs the business side of things and often owns the operation, too. The publisher of a newspaper is often also the owner. When a writer wants to get their book published — printed and sold — they send it to a publishing house, which may become the book's publisher.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

publisher publishers

I avoided my publisher for so long that they probably suspected I got cold feet.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

In a post on social media after the apology, Morgan said: "I am pursuing legal action against him and his publisher Penguin to have the lies removed, and damages paid to the King's Trust."

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

A federal court ordered LibGen to shut down in 2015 and academic publisher Elsevier received a $15 million judgment against the site in 2017.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

A few years later, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Awad got a call from her publisher.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Murray would not withhold royalties as his first publisher had, and he would not make Charles pay him to have his books published, as some other publishers did.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

On Monday, Morgan had said he would sue Earl Spencer and his publishers over "fabricated inaccuracies".

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

The BBC understands Penguin, the publishers of Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, will be amending this one point in future editions of the book.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

Songs typically carry two copyrights — one for the composition, usually held by songwriters and their publishers, and one for the sound recording, usually owned by the label.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

It’s also a risk-averse one, in which publishers worry about taking on any project that might face a boycott or predictable headwinds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Nor could the publishers of Bobby’s two books, My 60 Memorable Games and Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, easily keep up with demand for the chess star’s perspective.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• journalist
• magazine
• media
• newsperson
• reporter
• writer