royalty

noun

roy·​al·​ty ˈrȯi(-ə)l-tē 

plural royalties

1

a

: royal status or power : sovereignty

b

: a right or perquisite of a sovereign (such as a percentage paid to the crown of gold or silver taken from mines)

2

: regal character or bearing : nobility

3

a

: persons of royal lineage

dined with royalty

On our wedding day, we were treated like royalty.

b

: a person of royal rank

… how to address royalties …

—George Santayana

c

: an elite class

4

: a right of jurisdiction granted to an individual or corporation by a sovereign

5

a

: a share of the product or profit reserved by the grantor especially of an oil or mining lease

b

: a payment to an author or composer for each copy of a work sold or to an inventor for each item sold under a patent

Synonyms of royalty

• majesty
• nobility
• dignity

Examples of royalty in a Sentence

It was an honor and a privilege to dine with royalty.

On our wedding day, we were treated like royalty.

Recent Examples on the Web

The group acquired Origin for just over $40 million, plus a portion of future royalties, and became the basin’s top player. — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026

Rounding out the group’s high-stakes work, Stillman and Wetzel are representing Spotify before the Copyright Royalty Board in a proceeding that will set industrywide songwriter and publisher royalty rates for streaming and downloads from 2028-32. — Claudia Rosenbaum, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026

Mike Smith, who pleaded guilty, was accused of making millions in royalties off a scheme that involved using bots to artificially inflate plays of his songs. — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026

Streaming fraud has long been a rallying issue for smaller artists due to the royalty payout of DSPs including Spotify and Apple Music, which are both based on a pro-rata model that pays artists based on their percentage of total streams each month. — Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 7 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English roialte, from Anglo-French realté, roialté, from real

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for royalty

• loyalty
• disloyalty
• viceroyalty

Kids Definition

royalty

noun

roy·​al·​ty ˈrȯi(-ə)l-tē 

plural royalties

1

: royal status or power

2

: royal character or conduct

3

: members of a royal family

4

a

: a share of a product or profit (as of a mine) claimed by the owner for allowing another to use the property

b

: a payment made to the owner of a patent or copyright for the use of it

Legal Definition

royalty

noun

roy·​al·​ty

plural royalties

1

: a right delegated (as to an individual or corporation) by a sovereign

2

a

: a share of the profit or product reserved by the grantor especially of an oil or mineral lease compare overriding royalty

b

: a payment made to an author or composer for each copy of a work sold or to an inventor for each article sold under a patent