capitalist

1 of 2

noun

cap·​i·​tal·​ist ˈka-pə-tə-list 

ˈkap-tə-

1

: a person who has capital especially invested in business

industrial capitalists

broadly : a person of wealth : plutocrat

Charitable organizations often seek help from capitalists.

2

: a person who favors capitalism

capitalist

2 of 2

adjective

variants or capitalistic

ˌka-pə-tə-ˈli-stik 

ˌkap-tə-

1

: owning capital

the capitalist class

2

a

: practicing or advocating capitalism

capitalist nations

b

: marked by capitalism

capitalist period of history

capitalistically

ˌka-pə-tə-ˈli-sti-k(ə-)lē 

ˌkap-tə-

adverb

Synonyms

Noun

• Croesus
• deep pocket
• fat cat
• have
• money
• moneybags
• plutocrat
• silk stocking

Examples of capitalist in a Sentence

Noun

capitalists who lost everything in the '29 Crash

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

By the end of 2010, after engineering a meeting with Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist, the three of them had secured funding for DeepMind. —Nico Grant, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2024

For instance, next week, Connect is hosting a private event that will bring 118 venture capitalists to meet with 30 San Diego startups. —Natallie Rocha, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably borrowed from French capitaliste "person possessing capital," from capital capital entry 2 + -iste -ist entry 1

Adjective

capital entry 2 + -ist entry 2, after capitalist entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1774, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1845, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing capitalist

• pre-capitalist

Kids Definition

capitalist

noun

cap·​i·​tal·​ist

ˈkap-ət-ᵊl-əst,

ˈkap-tᵊl-

1

: a person who has capital and especially business capital

2

: a person who supports capitalism