a person who is a customer, client, or paying guest, especially a regular one, of a store, hotel, or the like.
a person who supports with money, gifts, efforts, or endorsement an artist, writer, museum, cause, charity, institution, special event, or the like.
a patron of the arts; patrons of the annual Democratic dance.
a person whose support or protection is solicited or acknowledged by the dedication of a book or other work.
Roman History. the protector of a dependent or client, often the former master of a freedman still retaining certain rights over him.
Ecclesiastical. a person who has the right of presenting a member of the clergy to a benefice.
a person, esp a man, who sponsors or aids artists, charities, etc; protector or benefactor
a customer of a shop, hotel, etc, esp a regular one
See patron saint
(in ancient Rome) the protector of a dependant or client, often the former master of a freedman still retaining certain rights over him
Christianity a person or body having the right to present a clergyman to a benefice
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Medieval Latin, Latin patrōnus “legal protector, advocate” ( Medieval Latin: “lord, master”), derivative of pater “father”; see pattern
First recorded in 1860–65; from Spanish; see patron ( def. )
A patron supports someone or something. A patron of a business supports the business by being a loyal customer. A patron of the arts helps support starving artists — financially, not with food rations. The word patron comes from the Latin pater or patr- meaning "father." Think of how a father is supposed to financially support his kids. A patron of the arts is someone who shows his appreciation or support for the arts by donating money to arts organizations. And a patron of the Red Lobster is a frequent customer who can be seen in the same corner booth every Sunday night, noshing on cheddar biscuits.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Catholic church is deeply entrenched in Poland's national identity and the Virgin Mary is considered the country's patron and protector, even as it undergoes one of the fastest rates of secularisation worldwide.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
The new UK book gifting and reading programme has been announced in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, which has the Queen as its patron.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Analysts said the visit was an effort to reassert that Beijing, not Moscow, remains North Korea’s principal patron.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
She also became a patron of the charity Brain Tumour Research.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Lawrence turned instead to his newest and wealthiest private patron, the Rockefeller Foundation.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
The year she was killed, Blanco was played by Luces Velásquez in the Colombian telenovela “Pablo Escobar, el patrón del mal.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2024
At first the company’s cash payments, infrastructure projects and job offers seemed like a good alternative to the old way of life under a land-owning patrón.
From Washington Post
Benito's patrón would not welcome us with empty pockets.
From Rebel Spurs by Norton, Andre
Villegas and Cummings met two years ago at the Willow Run Polo school, a magnet for the Argentine players, many of whom are boarded on farms owned by the people they call their patrones.
From Time Magazine Archive
Polo pros and local patrones describe Villegas as a good-natured man who never lost his temper, even during rough-and-tumble matches.
From Time Magazine Archive
But of the xii. other vertues I make xii. other knights the patrones, for the more variety of the history: of which these three bookes contayn three.
From Prefaces and Prologues to Famous Books with Introductions, Notes and Illustrations by Eliot, Charles William
But of the xii. other vertues, I 130 make xii. other knights the patrones, for the more variety 131 of the history: Of which these three bookes contayn three.
From The Faerie Queene — Volume 01 by Spenser, Edmund
Whilest they and their patrones for them, require dominion and empire aboue men.
From The First Blast of the Trumpet against the monstrous regiment of Women by Arber, Edward
"I felt terrible," he said, full of regret that he did not tell patrons to evacuate at the first sign of fire.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Indian royals were major patrons of polo, and polo tournaments offered a rare meeting ground for Indian aristocracy and the British colonial elite.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
The sight of USA fans in colourful jerseys is commonplace throughout the host cities, and just about every restaurant with a TV has patrons transfixed on the latest drama.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
All of the other patrons decline; there are better ways to spend this one precious life.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
“I doubt that,” Celia says as she looks at the surrounding patrons, not finding a single eye turned in their direction.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
