adj · noun · 13 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.
Received-Pronunciation:/pɹəˈpɹaɪ.ə.tə.ɹi/
Received-Pronunciation:/pɹəˈpɹaɪ.ə.tɹi/
Canada, General-American:/pɹəˈpɹaɪ.əˌtɛɹ.i/
California:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australian:/pɹəˈpɹɑɪ.ə.tə.ɹi/
Australian:/pɹəˈpɹɑɪ.ə.tɹi/
CMU ARPABET:P R AH0 P R AY1 AH0 T EH2 R IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Of or relating to property or ownership.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
proprietary rights
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: proprietorial
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Owning something; having ownership.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
the proprietary class
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: proprietorial
Antonyms: none provided
3
adj
Meaning 3
Created or manufactured exclusively by the owner or licensee of intellectual property rights, as with a patent or trade secret.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
The continuous profitability of the company is based on its many proprietary products.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: nonproprietary
4
adj
Meaning 4
Nonstandard and controlled by one particular organization.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
a proprietary extension to the HTML standard for Web page structure
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: nonproprietary, open source
5
adj
Meaning 5
Privately owned.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
a proprietary lake; a proprietary chapel
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
adj
Meaning 6
Possessive, jealous, or territorial.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: proprietorial
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
A proprietor or owner.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
noun
Meaning 8
A body of proprietors, taken collectively.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
9
noun
Meaning 9
The rights of a proprietor.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
10
noun
Meaning 10
A monk who had reserved goods and belongings to himself, notwithstanding his renunciation of all at the time of profession.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
11
noun
Meaning 11
A company doing legitimate business while also serving as a front for espionage.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: espionage, government, military, politics, war
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
12
adjective
Meaning 12
protected by trademark or patent or copyright; made or produced or distributed by one having exclusive rights
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
`Tylenol' is a proprietary drug of which `acetaminophen' is the generic form
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: nonproprietary
13
noun
Meaning 13
an unincorporated business owned by a single person who is responsible for its liabilities and entitled to its profits
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: proprietorship
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: ownership
History
Etymology
From French propriétaire, from Latin proprietārius. By surface analysis, propriety + -ary. Compare with the Latin proprietas (“property”) and proprius (“ownership”).
Across languages
Translations
77 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
на собственост
(na sobstvenost)
— relating to property or ownership
Dutch:
eigendoms-
— relating to property or ownership
Faroese:
ognar-
— relating to property or ownership
Finnish:
oma
— relating to property or ownership
Finnish:
omistus-
— relating to property or ownership
Georgian:
მესაკუთრული
(mesaḳutruli)
— relating to property or ownership
Georgian:
მესაკუთრეობრივი
(mesaḳutreobrivi)
— relating to property or ownership
Georgian:
პროპრიეტარული
(ṗroṗrieṭaruli)
— relating to property or ownership
German:
Eigentums-
— relating to property or ownership
German:
Eigentümer-
— relating to property or ownership
Greek:
ιδιοκτησιακός
(idioktisiakós)
— relating to property or ownership
Hebrew:
קִנְיָנִי
— relating to property or ownership
Hungarian:
tulajdonjogi
— relating to property or ownership
Hungarian:
tulajdoni
— relating to property or ownership
Polish:
własnościowy
— relating to property or ownership
Portuguese:
proprietário
— relating to property or ownership
Romanian:
proprietar
— relating to property or ownership
Romanian:
de proprietate
— relating to property or ownership
Russian:
со́бственнический
(sóbstvenničeskij)
— relating to property or ownership
Russian:
проприета́рный
(proprijetárnyj)
— relating to property or ownership
Serbo-Croatian:
vlasnički
— relating to property or ownership
Spanish:
de propiedad
— relating to property or ownership
Bulgarian:
собственически
(sobstveničeski)
— of or relating to the quality of being an owner
Dutch:
bezittend
— of or relating to the quality of being an owner
Finnish:
omistava
— of or relating to the quality of being an owner
Finnish:
omistaja-
— of or relating to the quality of being an owner
Georgian:
დაპატენტებული
(daṗaṭenṭebuli)
— of or relating to the quality of being an owner
Georgian:
პატენტიანი
(ṗaṭenṭiani)
— of or relating to the quality of being an owner
German:
besitzend
— of or relating to the quality of being an owner
Hungarian:
tulajdonosi
— of or relating to the quality of being an owner
Hungarian:
vagyonos
— of or relating to the quality of being an owner
Polish:
własnościowy
— of or relating to the quality of being an owner
Portuguese:
proprietário
— of or relating to the quality of being an owner
Russian:
патенто́ванный
(patentóvannyj)
— of or relating to the quality of being an owner
Serbo-Croatian:
vlasnički
— of or relating to the quality of being an owner
Swedish:
ägande-
— of or relating to the quality of being an owner
Bulgarian:
патентован
(patentovan)
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Faroese:
navnvardur
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Faroese:
navnvarnar-
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Finnish:
alkuperäinen
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Finnish:
alkuperäis-
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Finnish:
omisteinen
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
German:
proprietär
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
German:
urheberrechtlich geschützt
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
German:
geschützt
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Hungarian:
szabadalmazott
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Hungarian:
szabadalmaztatott
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Hungarian:
bejegyzett
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Hungarian:
védett
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Norwegian Bokmål:
proprietær
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Norwegian Nynorsk:
proprietær
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Polish:
markowy
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Portuguese:
proprietário
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Russian:
проприета́рный
(proprijetárnyj)
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Serbo-Croatian:
originalan
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Serbo-Croatian:
licenciran
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Spanish:
privativo
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner
Swedish:
proprietär
— created or manufactured exclusively by the IPR owner