Meaning & use
partial owner
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Meanings
nouncountable
A person who owns only part of something, such as a company, a property, or a vehicle, rather than all of it.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a partial owner' or 'partial owners'.
Patterns
- a partial owner of something
- become a partial owner
She is a partial owner of the bakery, sharing it with two cousins.
As a partial owner of the boat, he pays half of the maintenance costs.
The court asked each partial owner to sign the sale papers.
nouncountablebusinesslaw
In business and law, someone who holds less than full ownership rights in an asset or firm.
Grammar: Often used in legal or business writing, sometimes before another noun: 'partial owner liability'.
Patterns
- partial owner of a company
- the rights of a partial owner
A partial owner may still vote on major company decisions.
Buying shares made her a partial owner of the firm.
Word forms
| plural | partial owners |
|---|
Common combinations
- partial owner of a business
- He became a partial owner of a business after investing.
- partial owner of a property
- Each partial owner of a property must agree to the sale.
- a partial owner in a company
- She is a partial owner in a company that makes software.
- co-owner
- The two sisters are co-owners of the shop.
Synonyms and how they differ
- co-owner
- Usually means one of two or more people who own something together, and often suggests equal shares, while 'partial owner' stresses that the share is not the whole.
- shareholder
- Fits better for someone who owns shares in a company; 'partial owner' is broader and can apply to houses, cars, or land.
- stakeholder
- Means anyone with an interest in a business, not necessarily an owner, so it is wider than 'partial owner'.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: partial owner or partner? partial owner or shareholder?
partial owner vs partner
A partner shares a business or activity with you, but may not own any part of it; a partial owner always holds a legal share.
partial owner vs shareholder
A shareholder owns stock, which is a kind of partial ownership, but the word is used mainly for companies.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'partial owner' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'A partial owner of something' is the standard pattern. 'To' and 'for' do not follow 'owner' in this sense, and the last option is not grammatical.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “partial owner”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.