franchise

noun

fran·chise | \ˈfran-ˌchīz

Definition of franchise

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : freedom or immunity from some burden or restriction vested in a person or group

2a : a special privilege granted to an individual or group especially : the right to be and exercise the powers of a corporation

b : a constitutional or statutory right or privilege especially : the right to vote

c(1) : the right or license granted to an individual or group to market a company's goods or services in a particular territory also : a business granted such a right or license just opened a new fast-food franchise down the street

(2) : the territory involved in such a right

3a : the right of membership in a professional sports league

b : a team and its operating organization having such membership He's the best player in the history of the franchise.

franchise

verb

franchised; franchising

Definition of franchise (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 archaic : free

2 : to grant a franchise to

Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about franchise

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Synonyms & Antonyms for franchise

Synonyms: Noun

ballot, enfranchisement, suffrage, vote

Antonyms: Noun

disenfranchisement

Examples of franchise in a Sentence

Noun

She was granted an exclusive franchise in the city's west end. They just opened a new fast-food franchise down the street. The U.S. did not extend the franchise to women until the early 20th century. He's the best player in the history of the franchise.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Isaac and Bamba have become the new centerpieces of the Magic’s nucleus, the players who must meet their potential for the franchise’s latest rebuild to succeed. — Josh Robbins, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Jonathan Isaac, Mo Bamba gave Magic hope at summer league," 14 July 2018 Fans of the The Bachelor franchise were quick to notice that series villain Chad Johnson made an appearance. — Cady Lang, Time, "British Fans Tell Jimmy Kimmel How Drunk They Were During The Croatia-England World Cup Match," 12 July 2018 Contract status: Scheduled to play this fall on the one-year franchise tag. — Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Lions 2018 Most Important: No. 4 Ziggy Ansah's health is key," 14 July 2018 The Orioles entered Saturday on pace to win just 44 games, which would be 10 fewer than any other team since the franchise began playing in Baltimore. — Peter Schmuck, baltimoresun.com, "Schmuck: During season on the brink, Orioles are losing the head games, too," 14 July 2018 Maybe O’Connor, Orlando’s third coach in four seasons, can change the direction of this floundering franchise. — Mike Bianchi, Pro Soccer USA, "James O’Connor is finally forcing Orlando City’s players to look in the mirror," 14 July 2018 Papa John’s is a pizza company with 120,000 corporate and franchise team members around the world. — Tim Sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "Bendapudi manages first University of Louisville crisis magnificently," 13 July 2018 Aurelio’s now boasts more than 40 franchise locations in six states. — Ted Slowik, Daily Southtown, "Slowik: Homewood takes spotlight on 'WGN Morning News' live block party broadcast," 13 July 2018 After research and, more importantly, learning from the mistakes of others, Mandell realized that the most successful franchises are based in cities, not in neighboring suburbs. — Shawn Mcfarland, courant.com, "How Local Businessman Bruce Mandell Brought Pro Soccer To Hartford," 13 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Founded in Baton Rouge in 2003 by Landry and Jack Warner, Walk-On's didn't even start franchising until about four years ago. — Lawrence Specker, AL.com, "Walk-On's preps 1st Alabama restaurant; more on way," 25 Apr. 2018 The company started franchising in 2014 and has 40 locations in development around the country, including in Pennsylvania, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Texas and Utah. — Kathleen Purvis, charlotteobserver, "Vegan cinnamon roll bakery from Shark Tank opens soon in Indian Trail | Charlotte Observer," 2 Feb. 2018 In most offseasons, a man with his track record — franchise home run record, playoff success, world champion, good defender, terrific teammate — could've signed for $60 million. — Sam Mellinger, kansascity, "A story about Mike Moustakas and baseball and money | The Kansas City Star," 8 Mar. 2018 Any changes of such magnitude also would require the cooperation of IHOP’s owner-operators; the chain is entirely franchised. — Greg Trotter, chicagotribune.com, "IHOP eyes urban expansion in Chicago, other major cities," 13 June 2018 However neither's average salary will top the $17.1 million that Dallas' Demarcus Lawrence and Detroit's Ziggy Ansah, both franchised earlier this year, are scheduled to pull down in 2018. — Nate Davis, USA TODAY, "Who will be NFL's first $20 million defender? Rams' Aaron Donald, Raiders' Khalil Mack best bets," 9 May 2018 All products are available through Athalonz’s website, and they are affiliated with the national D-BAT training facilities franchise, two of which are located in Mesa and Peoria. — Georgann Yara, azcentral, "Athalonz's Tim Markison helping make sports 'healthy for the future'," 28 June 2018 Cauldron currently has four locations, two of which are franchised, including the 1,600-square-foot Kearny Mesa shop. — Hang Nguyen, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Cauldron, home to the viral 'puffle cone' ice cream, opens first San Diego shop," 8 June 2018 One important decision the team made was to start franchising the store in 2015. — NBC News, "How Woops! Macarons became a business by accident," 20 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'franchise.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for franchise

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from franchir to free, from franc free — more at frank

Verb

see franchise entry 1

Noun

Anglo-French, literally, freedom, liberty, from Middle French, from franchir to free, from Old French franc free

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More Definitions for franchise

franchise

noun

English Language Learners Definition of franchise

(Entry 1 of 2)

: the right to sell a company's goods or services in a particular area; also : a business that is given such a right

: the right to vote

sports : a team that is a member of a professional sports league

franchise

verb

English Language Learners Definition of franchise (Entry 2 of 2)

: to offer the right to sell (your company's goods or services) in a particular area

See the full definition for franchise in the English Language Learners Dictionary

franchise

noun

fran·chise | \ˈfran-ˌchīz

Legal Definition of franchise

1 : a special right or privilege granted by the government to an individual, group, or business entity: as

a : a right to conduct a business and especially to be and to exercise the powers of a corporation

b : a right granted to a public utility company to provide services and to use public land for that purpose

2 : a constitutional or statutory right especially : the right to vote —used with the restricting them in employment, education, the franchise, legal personality, and public accommodation — W. H. Burns

3 : a right or license that is granted to an individual or group to market a company's goods or services in a particular territory under the company's trademark, trade name, or service mark and that often involves the use of rules and procedures designed by the company and services (as advertising) and facilities provided by the company in return for fees, royalties, or other compensation also : a business granted such a right or license ran a fast-food franchise

4a : an amount of liability (as a percentage or sum) specified in an insurance contract below which an insurer disclaims liability and above which the insurer assumes total liability — compare deductible

b : group insurance covering fewer than the minimum number of participants required by law for such coverage