owner

noun

own·er | \ ˈō-nər

plural owners

Definition of owner

: a person who owns something : one who has the legal or rightful title to something : one to whom property belongs business/property owners He and his sister are owners of the restaurant. We were able to return the wallet to its rightful owner. —often used in combination dog-owners and cat-owners

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Examples of owner in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

One food truck owner told American University radio station WAMU that her sales were down by more than 50% outside the National Portrait Gallery. — Isabella Gomez, Teen Vogue, "5 Ways the Government Shutdown Is Impacting Americans," 3 Jan. 2019 Our Village™ is where international artisans, crafters, makers, and small shop owners converge to market their products. — Country Living, "Our Village™—An Online Marketplace Making The World A Better Place," 1 Jan. 2019 A day earlier, Musk tweeted that his company was reshuffling all cars destined to owners who can't take delivery before year's end, and also making test drive and display cars available for discounted sale. — Megan Geuss, Ars Technica, "Musk says Tesla will cover tax credit difference on missed 2018 deliveries," 26 Dec. 2018 Now, as noted by 9t05Google, a feature that allows users of the screening feature to save transcripts is rolling out to Pixel owners, slowly but surely transforming phone calls into text. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "Finally, the Robots Are Turning Phone Calls Into Text Chats," 3 Dec. 2018 The app, which will be available globally in the first half of next year, will include Apple’s original programs free to Apple device owners and also will enable users to sign up for TV network subscriptions owned by other companies. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Recode Daily: Tim Cook wants a GDPR for the rest of the world," 24 Oct. 2018 So why would the owner, who is a businessman, want to buy, say, a more efficient refrigerator? — Kevin Dupzyk, Popular Mechanics, "My Patent Story: A Smarter Electrical Metering System Than the Utilities Had," 21 Feb. 2019 In 1983, Alain Wertheimer, the co-owner of Chanel, asked Lagerfeld to breathe new life into the iconic French house, which had been in sleepy decline since Coco Chanel’s death at the age of 87 in 1971. — Nicole Phelps, Vogue, "Legendary Designer Karl Lagerfeld Has Died," 19 Feb. 2019 But the mutinous atmosphere won’t be lost on owner Roman Abramovich, who has spent the year watching from afar because the British government stymied the Russian billionaire’s visa renewal. — Rob Harris, The Seattle Times, "Maurizio Sarri isolated at Chelsea after fans turn on him," 19 Feb. 2019

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

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Last Updated

14 Mar 2019

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Time Traveler for owner

The first known use of owner was before the 12th century

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More Definitions for owner

beneficial owner

noun

Financial Definition of beneficial owner

What It Is

The beneficial owner is the individual or entity that enjoys the benefits of owning an asset, regardless of whose name the title of the property or security is in.

How It Works

Beneficial ownership commonly refers to two situations:

1. Under U.S. securities law, a beneficial owner enjoys either sole or shared power regarding voting rights in a stock. According to the SEC, this right extends to include stock or securities owned by one person even if the title is held by another person or entity.
2. Beneficial ownership can also refer to a situation where an individual or entity holds the right of ownership even if the stock is registered with another entity, such as a brokerage house. In this case, while the brokerage firm is actually shown as the holder of the security, the investor is the beneficial owner.

For example, Bob buys 100 shares of stock in Company ABC via a brokerage house. Even though the stock is recorded under the broker's name, Bob is the beneficial owner.

Why It Matters

Beneficial ownership is a convenient and safe way of owning stock, especially for investors who want to hold securities without the responsibilities of voting or becoming involved in corporate actions.

To learn more about the best brokers for beginner investors, check out 6 Low Commission Brokers that Make Our Cut. If you're looking for brokers with more advanced trading platforms, click here to read Essential Trade Tools for the Advanced Investor.

Source: Investing Answers

owner

noun

English Language Learners Definition of owner

: a person or group that owns something

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

owner

noun

own·er | \ ˈō-nər\

Kids Definition of owner

: a person who owns something

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owner

noun

own·er

Legal Definition of owner

: one with an interest in and often dominion over property: as

a : legal owner in this entry

b : one with the right to exclusive use, control, or possession of property

c : a purchaser under a contract for the sale of real property — see also equitable owner in this entry

— beneficial owner

1 : one holding a beneficial interest in a trust — compare beneficial interest at interest sense 1

2 : one enjoying the benefit of property of which another is the legal owner was the beneficial owner of property held by the parent corporation

3 : one who has or shares the power to control the voting or investment of stock was considered the beneficial owner of stock held by her minor children

— equitable owner

: one (as a beneficiary of a trust) who is considered to have rights or obligations of an owner regardless of legal title on the ground of equity do not have legal title but, upon execution of the contract, they became equitable owners and have power to sue to protect their land — Dessen v. Jones, 551 N.E.2d 782 (1990)

— legal owner

: one who has legal title to property broadly : one determined by law to own property

— naked owner

in the civil law of Louisiana : an owner of property burdened by a usufruct

— record owner

: one who is the owner of property (as land or stock) according to current appropriate records received a tax bill as record owner of the land

— called also owner of record