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

As property owners, your own home insurance should provide coverage, said Mr. Gates; double-check with individual home insurers for clarification. — Donna Bulseco, WSJ, "The Secret to Scoring a Vacation Home That’s (Practically) Free," 11 Jan. 2019 Katy Maslow, co-owner of Twig Terrariums in Brooklyn, NY, tells CountryLiving.com. — Taysha Murtaugh, Country Living, "20 Best Terrarium Plants for Every Type of Home," 4 Jan. 2019 Musk made the claim on Twitter yesterday, responding to a soon-to-be Tesla owner in Ireland who was worried about coverage in his home country. — James Vincent, The Verge, "Elon Musk promises 100 percent Tesla Supercharger coverage in Europe next year," 27 Dec. 2018 According to Rania Sarras, owner of The Chimney Chap in Duxbury, Massachusetts, a certified chimney sweep should inspect and clean your chimney and fireplace on an annual basis. — Kevin Dupzyk, Popular Mechanics, "So You Want To Fix Your Chimney," 21 Dec. 2018 Verdict: Xbox One owners in need of an action-parkour fix should buy, buy, buy. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Sunset Overdrive review: Ride the rails to kaboom-town (finally on PCs, too)," 17 Nov. 2018 As Luca noted, opposition to the pipeline took place on private property, resistance that came at the invitation of the property owner, who has reportedly refused to let ETP purchase or use their property for the pipeline. — Mary Lovell, Teen Vogue, "Bayou Bridge Pipeline Meets Resistance from the L’eau Est La Vie Camp," 16 Oct. 2018 Now that waters are receding, property owners along its banks are picking through debris and figuring out what's left of their homes and livelihood. — Alex Derosier And Alan Suderman, Fox News, "Reckoning with loss of homes, livelihoods after Florence," 21 Sep. 2018 The chef and owner Noureen Feerasta is a Cordon Bleu grad and whips up some of the best food in Toronto. — Mosha Lundström Halbert, Vogue, "The Cool Girl’s Guide to Toronto," 27 Dec. 2018

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

17 Jan 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

own·er | \ ˈō-nər\

Kids Definition of owner

: a person who owns something

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