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Meaning & use

proprietary

adjective·Advancedbusinessformal

Last updated

UK/prəˈpraɪətri/
US/prəˈpraɪəˌteri/

Meanings

  1. adjectivebefore a nounbusiness

    Owned and controlled by one company, which alone has the legal right to make or sell it.

    Grammar: Comes before a noun: proprietary software, a proprietary formula.

    Patterns

    • proprietary software
    • proprietary information

    The company keeps its recipe as a proprietary secret.

    The tablet runs on proprietary software that other brands cannot use.

    Employees must not share proprietary data with competitors.

  2. adjectivebefore a nounlegalformal

    Relating to someone who owns property or a business, especially in the sense of ownership rights.

    Grammar: Used in legal or business writing: proprietary rights, a proprietary interest.

    Patterns

    • proprietary rights
    • a proprietary interest in something

    The owner claimed a proprietary interest in the land.

    Proprietary rights over the design stayed with the founder.

    A proprietary attitude toward the project made her hard to work with.

Common combinations

proprietary software
Many offices still depend on proprietary software.
proprietary technology
The firm sells its proprietary technology to carmakers.
proprietary information
Staff sign a form protecting proprietary information.
proprietary name
Walkman was once a proprietary name.
proprietary rights
The contract protects the firm's proprietary rights.

Synonyms and how they differ

patented
Patented means a legal patent exists, while proprietary can also cover trade secrets with no patent.
private
Private only says something is not public, whereas proprietary says a company owns it and controls its use.
exclusive
Exclusive stresses that only one party has access, while proprietary stresses ownership of the thing itself.
branded
Branded means sold under a name, but it does not necessarily mean the maker owns restricted rights.

Opposites

open-sourcegenericpublic

Word family

proprietor noun
an owner of a business
proprietorship noun
the state of owning a business
property noun
something owned
proprietress noun
a woman who owns a business

Commonly confused: proprietary or propriety?

proprietary vs propriety

Propriety means correct, polite behaviour. Proprietary means owned by a company.

Practice

The engineers could not publish the code because it was ___ to the company.

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