proprietorship
noun
pro·pri·e·tor·ship
prə-ˈprī-ə-tər-ˌship 
plural proprietorships
1
: the state or fact of being a proprietor : ownership
proprietorship of a medical product
proprietorship of a copyright
English proprietorship of Dunkirk was brief, because four years later King Charles II sold the port to France for ready cash—five million livres.—
Niger Calder
Niger Calder2
: something (such as a business) owned by a proprietor
Hispanic residents are filling the economic niche of mom-and-pop operations and other small proprietorships …—Raymond Hernandez
Raymond Hernandez
especially
: sole proprietorship
3
history
: ownership of a colony (such as one of the original American colonies) that includes full prerogatives of establishing a government and distributing land
Six of the colonies that eventually would form the nation were either founded or came under English rule during that period: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania (including Delaware), and North and South Carolina. All were proprietorships: that is, like Maryland they were granted in their entirety to one man or a group of men, who both held title to the soil and controlled the government. Charles II gave these vast American holdings as rewards to the men who had supported him during his years of exile.—Mary Beth Norton et al.
Mary Beth Norton et al.Examples of proprietorship in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
True Detective's Cary Joji Fukunaga directed the film, but since Craig's departure and the recent shake-up in proprietorship, no new Bond or Bond director has yet been announced.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 5 Mar. 2025
In 1961, the Soviet Union’s Yuri Gagarin became the first man up there, sparking an immediate bidding war with the US for proprietorship of the moon.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 8 July 2024
The American antimonopoly vision also played a foundational role in the decades-long fight to break the slave power, which many Americans considered a monopolistic threat to the system of small proprietorship that the U.S. government had cultivated.
—Barry C. Lynn, Foreign Affairs, 22 June 2021
Why not flail around in defense of my all-American single proprietorship?
—William T. Vollmann, Harper's Magazine, 16 Oct. 2023
The awards — which have been given out to local proprietorships for over three decades — this year were sponsored by HarborOne Bank.
—BostonGlobe.com, 1 June 2023
However, a proprietorship can only have one owner.
—Tom Cooney and Crystal Faulkner, The Enquirer, 5 Oct. 2020
Elon antagonists railed against his proprietorship.
—Jacob Carpenter, Fortune, 18 Nov. 2022
Yet Maphorisa’s response to the Davido fan seemed to encourage a fuller understanding of the hybrids rather than expressing proprietorship over them.
—Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2022
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Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 5 Mar. 2025
In 1961, the Soviet Union’s Yuri Gagarin became the first man up there, sparking an immediate bidding war with the US for proprietorship of the moon.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 8 July 2024
The American antimonopoly vision also played a foundational role in the decades-long fight to break the slave power, which many Americans considered a monopolistic threat to the system of small proprietorship that the U.S. government had cultivated.
—Barry C. Lynn, Foreign Affairs, 22 June 2021
Why not flail around in defense of my all-American single proprietorship?
—William T. Vollmann, Harper's Magazine, 16 Oct. 2023
The awards — which have been given out to local proprietorships for over three decades — this year were sponsored by HarborOne Bank.
—BostonGlobe.com, 1 June 2023
However, a proprietorship can only have one owner.
—Tom Cooney and Crystal Faulkner, The Enquirer, 5 Oct. 2020
Elon antagonists railed against his proprietorship.
—Jacob Carpenter, Fortune, 18 Nov. 2022
Yet Maphorisa’s response to the Davido fan seemed to encourage a fuller understanding of the hybrids rather than expressing proprietorship over them.
—Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Proprietorship.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proprietorship. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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