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Meaning & use

ownership

noun·Academic

Last updated

UK/ˈəʊnəʃɪp/
US/ˈoʊnərʃɪp/

Meanings

  1. noununcountable

    The fact of owning something, especially in a legal sense.

    Grammar: Uncountable and often followed by of: ownership of the land.

    Patterns

    • ownership of something
    • under new ownership

    The court decided the ownership of the painting.

    Home ownership has become harder for young people.

    The restaurant is now under new ownership.

  2. nounsingularbusiness

    The people or group that own a business or team.

    Grammar: Often a collective noun for owners: the ownership of the club.

    Patterns

    • the ownership of something

    The club's ownership plans to sell the stadium.

    Fans protested against the ownership.

    A new ownership group took over the team.

  3. noununcountable

    A feeling of being personally responsible for a task, and caring about the result.

    Grammar: Often with take: take ownership of a problem.

    Patterns

    • take ownership of something
    • a sense of ownership

    She took ownership of the mistake and fixed it.

    Giving students ownership of their projects raises motivation.

    The team felt a strong sense of ownership.

Common combinations

take ownership
Managers should take ownership of results.
home ownership
Home ownership rates have fallen.
sole ownership
He holds sole ownership of the company.
change of ownership
A change of ownership was announced.
proof of ownership
You must show proof of ownership.
joint ownership
The couple have joint ownership of the house.

Synonyms and how they differ

possession
Possession means holding or having something, which is not always the same as legally owning it.
title
Title is the legal right to property, and is more technical than ownership.
responsibility
Responsibility is a duty, while ownership adds a feeling of personal pride or control.
proprietorship
Proprietorship is a formal word for owning a business.

Opposites

tenancyrenting

Word family

own verb
to have something as your property
owner noun
a person who owns something
co-ownership noun
owning something jointly
owned adjective
belonging to someone
disown verb
to refuse to be connected with

Commonly confused: ownership or owners?

ownership vs owners

Owners are the people; ownership is the state of owning.

Practice

The manager said every engineer should take ______ of the bugs in their own code.

Make it your own

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