pro·pri·e·tary
prə-ˈprī-ə-ˌter-ē 
plural proprietaries
1
: one that possesses, owns, or holds exclusive right to something
specifically
: proprietor sense 1
2
: something that is used, produced, or marketed under exclusive legal right of the inventor or maker
specifically
: a drug (such as a patent medicine) that is protected by secrecy, patent, or copyright against free competition as to name, product, composition, or process of manufacture
3
: a business secretly owned by and run as a cover for an intelligence organization
pro·pri·e·tary
prə-ˈprī-ə-ˌter-ē
1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of an owner or title holder
proprietary rights
2
: used, made, or marketed by one having the exclusive legal right
a proprietary process
proprietary software
3
: privately owned and managed and run as a profit-making organization
a proprietary clinic
Did you know?
A proprietary process is a manufacturing process that others are forbidden to use, and a proprietary trademark is a name that only the owner can use. Legal rights of this kind are ensured by copyrights and patents. After a certain period of time, inventions and processes lose their legal protection, cease to be proprietary, and enter the "public domain", meaning that everyone can use them freely. Baseball fans often take a proprietary attitude toward their favorite team—that is, they behave more or less as if they own it, even though the only thing they may own is the right to yell from a bleacher seat till the end of a game.
Examples of proprietary in a Sentence
Adjective
By allowing less favorable results to remain buried, the agency puts proprietary interests ahead of the public interest, and doctors and the public come to believe prescription drugs are better than they are. That should stop.
—
Marcia Angell, New York Review of Books, 8 June 2006
It is a proprietary faith: no one better tell me what to do with my own land.
—Lance Morrow, Time, 11 Sept. 2000
Many veterans have adopted a proprietary attitude toward the war, and they can get a bit belligerent about it.
—Nicholas Proffitt, New York Times Book Review, 21 May 1989
The investors have a proprietary interest in the land.
The computer comes with the manufacturer's proprietary software.
“Merriam-Webster” is a proprietary name.
The journalist tried to get access to proprietary information.
Marcia Angell, New York Review of Books, 8 June 2006
It is a proprietary faith: no one better tell me what to do with my own land.
—Lance Morrow, Time, 11 Sept. 2000
Many veterans have adopted a proprietary attitude toward the war, and they can get a bit belligerent about it.
—Nicholas Proffitt, New York Times Book Review, 21 May 1989
The investors have a proprietary interest in the land.
The computer comes with the manufacturer's proprietary software.
“Merriam-Webster” is a proprietary name.
The journalist tried to get access to proprietary information.
Recent Examples on the Web
Michele Dobnikar, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
The latter were inspired by uranium glass and are realized via a complex, proprietary, two-week process involving hand-poured layering and molecular stabilization.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 28 June 2025
The buds also provide all manner of ways to get your music to them in the best possible quality, including support for LDAC and aptX Lossless and Adaptive, and Cambridge’s proprietary DynamEQ looks to keep things sounding exciting, even at low volumes.
—Julian Chokkattu, Wired News, 28 June 2025
Companies like OpenAI, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft dominate through vast computational resources, massive proprietary datasets, deep pools of technical talent, extractive data practices, low-cost labor, and capital that enables continuous experimentation and rapid deployment.
—Trebor Scholz, Harvard Business Review, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for proprietary
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
Virtual events can open the door to serious threats like data breaches, phishing attacks and unauthorized access to proprietary content.
—Michele Dobnikar, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
The latter were inspired by uranium glass and are realized via a complex, proprietary, two-week process involving hand-poured layering and molecular stabilization.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 28 June 2025
The buds also provide all manner of ways to get your music to them in the best possible quality, including support for LDAC and aptX Lossless and Adaptive, and Cambridge’s proprietary DynamEQ looks to keep things sounding exciting, even at low volumes.
—Julian Chokkattu, Wired News, 28 June 2025
Companies like OpenAI, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft dominate through vast computational resources, massive proprietary datasets, deep pools of technical talent, extractive data practices, low-cost labor, and capital that enables continuous experimentation and rapid deployment.
—Trebor Scholz, Harvard Business Review, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for proprietary
Cite this Entry
“Proprietary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proprietary. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
proprietary
1 of 2 noun
pro·pri·e·tary
p(r)ə-ˈprī-ə-ˌter-ē
plural proprietaries
: something that is used, produced, or marketed under exclusive legal right of the inventor or maker
specifically
: a drug (as a patent medicine) that is protected by secrecy, patent, or copyright against free competition as to name, product, composition, or process of manufacture
proprietary
2 of 2 adjective1
: used, made, or marketed by one having the exclusive legal right
a proprietary drug
2
: privately owned and managed and run as a profit-making organization
a proprietary clinic
Legal Definition
proprietary
1 of 2 noun
pro·pri·e·tary
prə-ˈprī-ə-ˌter-ē
plural proprietaries
1
: something that is used, produced, or marketed under exclusive legal right of the inventor or maker
specifically
: a drug (as a patent medicine) that is protected by secrecy, patent, or copyright against free competition as to name, product, composition, or process of manufacture
2
: a business secretly owned by and run as a cover for an intelligence operation
proprietary
2 of 2 adjective1
a
: held as property of a private owner
b
: of, relating to, or characteristic of a proprietor
proprietary rights
2
: used, made, or marketed by one having the exclusive legal right
a proprietary process
3
: privately owned and managed and run as a profit-making organization
a proprietary insurer
a proprietary clinic
4
: of or relating to the acts of a municipality which profit or benefit the municipality and for which it is answerable in negligence
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