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ownership

noun

Definition of ownershipnext
as in control
the state or fact of owning something Home ownership is on the rise in this country. The café is now under new ownership.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ownership The front office also, crucially, had ownership on board to cover these expenses. — Spencer Nusbaum, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026 The Atlanta Federal Reserve’s home ownership affordability index fell to lows rarely seen on record this summer. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026 The Star requested comments from Derick and Shelley Shackelford, who own construction company Shack Built, and are silent partners with ownership stakes in both Drastic Measures and Wild Child. — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026 Pet ownership presents particular challenges for the unhoused, many activists say. — Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ownership
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ownership
  1. control
  2. keeping
  3. proprietorship
  4. possession
  5. power
Noun
  • Robert Mugabe, longtime strongman of Zimbabwe, printed money to ensure his party kept control of the country and to finance the nation's deficits.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Democrats have seized upon AI safety to boost their chances of retaking congressional control in the midterms.
    — Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of control
Noun
  • Once in orbit at L2, only minor burns once every 28 days are needed for station keeping — a negligible amount of fuel.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Muon says Starlight can support orbit raising, station keeping, and controlled deorbiting on small and medium-sized satellites.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of keeping
Noun
  • Those colours, as worn by Newton Heath — the club formed in 1878 who became Manchester United in 1902 — would become a symbol of the fight against the Glazers’ proprietorship.
    — Chris McKenna, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026
  • The New York Times described its methodology for producing the list, which started with selecting the criteria against which stores would be judged, including inventory, curation, proprietorship, customer service, ambience, location and payoff.
    — Adrienne Roberts, Freep.com, 3 Dec. 2025
Definition of proprietorship
Noun
  • This offseason, Indianapolis locked up wide receiver Alec Pierce on a lucrative four-year contract while adding a familiar Chiefs foe, wide receiver Keenan Allen, as a possession target.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Ayala pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography and is set to be sentenced next month.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of possession
Noun
  • And Majority Leader John Thune still could hold a roll-call vote on a data center power bill that Democrats blocked on Thursday.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Stone and Robert Icke, for example, have both built careers on transplanting old stories into slick contemporary containers, and, in varying degrees, those containers can come packed with power.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of power

Browse Nearby Words

owners
ownership
owning
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Cite this Entry

“Ownership.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ownership. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on ownership

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ownership

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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