Meaning & use
entrepreneur
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A person who starts a business, develops an idea, and accepts the risk of loss in hope of profit.
Grammar: Countable; plural entrepreneurs. Often followed by in or behind for a field or venture.
Patterns
- an entrepreneur in
- young entrepreneur
- entrepreneur behind a startup
The entrepreneur turned a weekend baking habit into a catering company.
She is an entrepreneur in clean-energy software.
The entrepreneur behind the app reinvested profits into safer servers.
Word forms
| plural | entrepreneurs |
|---|
Common combinations
- successful entrepreneur
- A successful entrepreneur listens to customers before scaling up.
- social entrepreneur
- The social entrepreneur designed low-cost water filters for remote schools.
- entrepreneur in residence
- The university invited an entrepreneur in residence to mentor student teams.
- risk-taking entrepreneur
- Every risk-taking entrepreneur needs a plan for slow months.
Synonyms and how they differ
- business owner
- A business owner may buy or inherit a firm; an entrepreneur emphasizes starting something and accepting risk.
- founder
- A founder starts an organization, especially a company; entrepreneur adds the risk-and-reward business sense.
- self-starter
- Informal for someone who acts independently; it does not necessarily imply launching a business.
Opposites
Word family
- entrepreneurial adjective
- Showing the confidence and willingness to start risky ventures.
- entrepreneurship noun
- The activity or quality of organizing and risking resources in a business.
- entrepreneurially adverb
- In an entrepreneurial way.
Commonly confused: entrepreneur or entomologist?
entrepreneur vs entomologist
An entrepreneur starts businesses; an entomologist studies insects.
Practice
Which detail is most central to an entrepreneur?
Choose one answer.
Entrepreneurship centers on initiating a venture and bearing risk; avoiding loss or merely following instructions removes the core idea.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “entrepreneur”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.