entrepreneur
Americannoun
plural
entrepreneurs-
a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.
-
an employer of productive labor; contractor.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
the owner or manager of a business enterprise who, by risk and initiative, attempts to make profits
-
a middleman or commercial intermediary
Other Word Forms
- entrepreneurial adjective
- entrepreneurship noun
Etymology
Origin of entrepreneur
First recorded in 1875–80; from French: literally, “one who undertakes (some task),” equivalent to entrepren(dre) “to undertake” (from Latin inter- inter- + prendere “to take,” variant of prehendere ) + -eur -eur; enterprise
Explanation
An entrepreneur is someone who starts a new business. Little stores and huge companies both have entrepreneurs behind them. Do you have good ideas for products? Are you OK with the idea of risk? Then maybe you should be an entrepreneur. This is someone who founds a business, whether a tiny one or a huge one. Besides starting the business, the entrepreneur takes on the most of the risk by investing their own money and/or bringing in other investors. For an entrepreneur, their business is their baby.
Vocabulary lists containing entrepreneur
A Raisin in the Sun
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Fast Food Nation
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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.
His father was an economist and his mother an entrepreneur.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
That said, how do you parent four kids as a successful serial entrepreneur?
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
Partovi, an Iranian American who had previously been an entrepreneur and angel investor, founded Neo in 2017.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
A British Bitcoin entrepreneur has told the BBC he is not the digital currency's mysterious inventor after a New York Times article named him as its creator.
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
She still had big dreams—maybe she could become an entrepreneur, open a beauty salon or her own fashion company.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
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.
