ownership

noun

own·​er·​ship ˈō-nər-ˌship 

plural ownerships

1

: the state, relation, or fact of being an owner

Warhol died in 1987, and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts assumed ownership of his work.

—Adam Liptak

… transfer of business and farm ownerships …

—The Columbian (Clark County, Washington) (online)

2

: a group or organization of owners

The sale, if approved by at least 75% of major league ownership, would value the team at $1.725 billion.

—Cale Clinton

3

: the quality or state of being accountable : responsibility

A successful candidate must settle all fines and costs owed to the society … and take full ownership for the conduct that led to their disciplinary hearing.

—Maggie McIntosh

The important thing in those situations is to promptly accept ownership of a misstep, do what's necessary to clean up the mess, and make the changes necessary to ensure it doesn't happen again.

—Danville (Virginia) Register & Bee

Examples of ownership in a Sentence

The company is under private ownership.

Recent Examples on the Web

The league announced its latest reboot in May, with new ownership through a holding company founded by Amritraj. — Amelie Claydon, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Proving Provenance In the world of fine art, provenance is the process used to verify the chain of ownership tied to the original creation of the artwork. — Stu Sjouwerman, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026

With ownership, there is one primary owner/governor, 30 in total. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 8 Sep. 2026

That comes with its own concerns, especially with some research suggesting private equity ownership is associated with worse outcomes for patients — and, at times, bad outcomes for health systems. — Daniel Payne, STAT, 8 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

owner + -ship

First Known Use

1583, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing ownership

• cross-ownership
• home ownership

Rhymes for ownership

• authorship
• battleship
• censorship
• chairmanship
• chieftainship
• comradeship
• consulship
• craftsmanship
• dealership
• draftsmanship
• fellowship
• fingertip

Legal Definition

ownership

noun

own·​er·​ship

: the state, relation, or fact of being an owner

also : the rights or interests of an owner

— absolute ownership

: ownership especially by a single person that is free of any encumbrances or limitations other than statutory law compare fee simple absolute at fee simple

— ostensible ownership \ ä-​ˈsten-​sə-​bəl-​ \

: ownership that is apparent rather than actual and that sometimes is recognized in cases of purchase of the property by an innocent third party

a dispute arising from the dealer's ostensible ownership and sale of the collateral

Note: A purchaser from a person with ostensible ownership of property may be able to defeat the claim to the property of the actual owner who created the ostensible ownership.

— ownership in indivision

in the civil law of Louisiana : ownership by two or more persons each having undivided shares in the property as a whole compare community property at property

— qualified ownership

: ownership that is limited by time, the interest of another party, or restrictions on the use of the property

had only qualified ownership of the fish and game on his property due to state restrictions