entrepreneur

noun

en·​tre·​pre·​neur ˌän-trə-p(r)ə-ˈnər 

-ˈn(y)u̇r,

ˌäⁿn-

: one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise

entrepreneurship

ˌän-trə-p(r)ə-ˈnər-ˌship

-ˈn(y)u̇r- 

ˌäⁿn-

noun

Did you know?

The Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

You might well wonder whether entrepreneur simply means “a person who starts a business and is willing to risk loss in order to make money” or whether it carries an additional connotation of far-sightedness and innovation. The answer, perhaps unsatisfyingly, is that it can go in either direction.

Entrepreneur has been used in English to refer to a kind of businessman since at least the middle of the 18th century, when it appeared in translation of the King of Prussia’s instructions for his generals (“. . . if the country happens not to abound in forage, you must agree with some Entrepreneur for the quantity required.”). During the 19th century, it was also used of a go-between or a person who undertakes any kind of activity (as opposed to just a business).

By the early 20th century entrepreneur appears to have taken on the connotation of go-getter when applied to an independent business owner, a quality that may also be found in the phrase entrepreneurial spirit, which began being used at about the same time.

Examples of entrepreneur in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The deal means the Garza family, as majority owners, are now among the most successful Latino entrepreneurs in food history. —Chloe Sorvino, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2024

British-Egyptian entrepreneur and billionaire Mohamed Mansour is one of its owners. —Lindsey Leake, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2024

Among them are Indian tech entrepreneur Evan Luthra, journalist Jillian Godsil, Dorian Jakov Stern Vukotic (the first to enter Liberland in 2023 and tech lead of the Liberland blockchain team), Bitcoin advocate Navid Saberin, and law graduate Michal Ptáčník. —Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 10 Oct. 2024

In the mid 1800s an entrepreneur named Sam Brannan loaded up a ship and sailed to San Francisco with single men and families who would later settle in the north of Napa Valley. —Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 10 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French, from Old French, from entreprendre to undertake — more at enterprise

First Known Use

1762, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

entrepreneur

noun

en·​tre·​pre·​neur ˌän-trə-p(r)ə-ˈnər 

-ˈn(y)u̇r

: one who organizes, manages, and takes on the risks of a business or enterprise