Standard Lemma guide

ownership

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈoʊnɚʃɪp/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈəʊnəʃɪp/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: OW1 N ER0 SH IH2 P Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The state of having complete legal control of something; possession; proprietorship.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Responsibility for or control over something.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: business

Examples

  • The successful candidate will take ownership of all internal design projects.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the act of having and controlling property

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: possession

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: control

Narrower terms: actual possession, constructive possession, criminal possession, retention, keeping, holding

4

noun

Meaning 4

the relation of an owner to the thing possessed; possession with the right to transfer possession to others

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: relation

Narrower terms: community, severalty, property right, proprietorship, proprietary, employee ownership, landholding, stockholding

5

noun

Meaning 5

the state or fact of being an owner

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: state

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English own Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English owner Proto-Germanic *skapjaną Proto-Germanic *-skapiz Proto-West Germanic *-skapi Old English -sċiepe Middle English -schipe English -ship English ownership From owner + -ship.

Across languages

Translations

74 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مُلْكِيَّة (mulkiyya) — legal status
  • Arabic: ملكية (mulkīya) — legal status
  • Asturian: propiedá — legal status
  • Belarusian: улада́нне (uladánnje) — legal status
  • Belarusian: улада́ньне (uladánʹnje) — legal status
  • Belarusian: вало́данне (valódannje) — legal status
  • Belarusian: вало́даньне (valódanʹnje) — legal status
  • Bengali: মালিকানা (malikana) — legal status
  • Bulgarian: владе́ние (vladénie) — legal status
  • Bulgarian: притежание (pritežanie) — legal status
  • Catalan: propietat — legal status
  • Chinese Mandarin: 所有權 /所有权 (suǒyǒuquán) — legal status
  • Czech: vlastnictví — legal status
  • Dutch: eigendom — legal status
  • Finnish: omistus — legal status
  • Finnish: omistaminen — legal status
  • French: propriété — legal status
  • Galician: propiedade — legal status
  • Georgian: საკუთრება (saḳutreba) — legal status
  • Georgian: ფლობა (ploba) — legal status
  • Georgian: მფლობელობა (mplobeloba) — legal status
  • Georgian: მესაკუთრეობა (mesaḳutreoba) — legal status
  • German: Eigentum — legal status
  • Hindi: मल्कियत (malkiyat) — legal status
  • Hindi: स्वामित्व (svāmitva) — legal status
  • Hungarian: tulajdonjog — legal status
  • Indonesian: kepemilikan — legal status
  • Indonesian: pemilikan — legal status
  • Irish: dílseacht — legal status
  • Irish: úinéireacht — legal status
  • Italian: proprietà — legal status
  • Italian: padronanza — legal status
  • Japanese: 所有権 (shoyūken) — legal status
  • Korean: 소유권 (soyugwon) — legal status
  • Latin: dominium — legal status
  • Latin: proprietas — legal status
  • Low German: Egendom — legal status
  • Macedonian: владеење (vladeenje) — legal status
  • Malay: pemilikan — legal status
  • Malayalam: ഉടമസ്ഥത (uṭamasthata) — legal status
  • Māori: rangatiratanga — legal status
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: eigarskap — legal status
  • Old English: āgenung — legal status
  • Polish: własność — legal status
  • Polish: posiadanie — legal status
  • Portuguese: propriedade — legal status
  • Romanian: proprietate — legal status
  • Romanian: proprietăți — legal status
  • Russian: владе́ние (vladénije) — legal status
  • Russian: со́бственность (sóbstvennostʹ) — legal status
  • Russian: пра́во со́бственности (právo sóbstvennosti) — legal status
  • Serbo-Croatian: vlasništvo — legal status
  • Slovak: vlastnenie — legal status
  • Slovene: lastništvo — legal status
  • Spanish: propiedad — legal status
  • Spanish: tituralidad — legal status
  • Spanish: dueñesco — legal status
  • Spanish: juro — legal status
  • Sumerian: 𒉆𒈗 (nam-lugak) — legal status
  • Swahili: umilikaji — legal status
  • Swedish: ägande — legal status
  • Swedish: ägarskap — legal status
  • Tagalog: pagmamay-ari — legal status
  • Telugu: స్వామ్యం (svāmyaṁ) — legal status
  • Turkish: sahiplik — legal status
  • Turkish: iyelik — legal status
  • Turkish: malik — legal status
  • Ottoman Turkish: صاحبلك (sahiblik) — legal status
  • Ottoman Turkish: ملكیت (mülkiyet) — legal status
  • Ukrainian: володі́ння (volodínnja) — legal status
  • Welsh: perchnogaeth — legal status
  • Dutch: verantwoordelijkheid nemen — responsibility for something
  • German: Verantwortung (with übernehmen) — responsibility for something
  • Polish: odpowiedzialność — responsibility for something
Real reading context

ownership in complete knowledge articles