The entrepreneur meaning is someone who launches a new business or venture, organizes the money and people it needs, and accepts the risk of losing out in the hope of making a profit. Someone who quits a steady job to open a bakery with their savings is an entrepreneur.
What sets an entrepreneur apart from an ordinary manager is ownership of the risk. A manager runs something that already exists; an entrepreneur builds something new and carries the loss if it fails. The word also stretches to people who start charities, social projects or new ventures inside large firms.
Entry at a glance
Meaning
Someone who starts and organizes a business and bears its riskPart of speech
Noun; plural entrepreneursPronunciation
on-truh-pruh-NUR (US also ahn-)Word forms
entrepreneurial (adjective), entrepreneurship (noun)Origin
French, from entreprendre, to undertake; business sense in English from the mid-1800sRelated words
founder, business owner, startup, enterpriseOpposite (roughly)
employee, salaried worker
Definition of entrepreneur, piece by piece
Entrepreneur meaning in English, as a full definition of entrepreneur, has three parts:
- Starts something. A new shop, app, service, factory or social project.
- Organizes resources. Brings together money, people, suppliers and customers.
- Takes the risk. Puts their own money, time or reputation on the line, hoping to earn a reward.
Size does not matter. A woman selling homemade pickles from her kitchen and a founder raising millions for a tech company are both entrepreneurs in this sense.
Entrepreneur in sentences
- My cousin became an entrepreneur at nineteen, renting out bicycles to tourists near the beach.
- The college runs a program that pairs young entrepreneurs with retired business owners.
- Not every entrepreneur dreams of a huge company; some just want a steady local café.
- She has an entrepreneurial streak and is always testing new side projects.
- Entrepreneurship classes teach budgeting, pitching and how to find your first customers.
Word forms and how to use them
| Form | Part of speech | Example |
|---|---|---|
| entrepreneur | noun (person) | a first-time entrepreneur |
| entrepreneurship | noun (activity) | a course in entrepreneurship |
| entrepreneurial | adjective | an entrepreneurial mindset |
| entrepreneurially | adverb | thinking entrepreneurially |
Common pairings: serial entrepreneur (someone who starts business after business), social entrepreneur (someone whose venture aims at a social good), budding or aspiring entrepreneur, and tech entrepreneur. An intrapreneur is an employee who acts like an entrepreneur inside a big company, launching new products with the firm's backing.
The entrepreneur meaning in real life
Compare this with a restaurant chain manager who runs one branch on a salary. The manager may work just as hard, but if the chain loses money, the manager does not lose their own savings. Who carries the loss is what the word really turns on. Many entrepreneurs start by finding a niche, a small group of customers whose needs are not yet met, and grow through innovation.
Where the word comes from
Entrepreneur is a French word, an agent noun from entreprendre, "to undertake", made of entre ("between") and prendre ("to take"). English borrowed a form of it in the late Middle Ages, but that early use died out. The word was borrowed again in the early 1800s for the manager or promoter of a theatrical show, with the business sense following around the 1850s, the one we use today. Enterprise comes from the same French verb, so an entrepreneur is, quite literally, one who undertakes an enterprise.
Spelling and pronunciation tips
This is one of the most misspelled business words. Break it into chunks: entre + pre + neur. The French ending -eur is the tricky part; it is not -ure or -er. Common slips include "entrepeneur" (missing the r after p), "enterpreneur" and "entreprenuer".
In speech, the stress falls on the last syllable: on-truh-pruh-NUR. In Indian English you will often hear a clear "aan-tre-pre-NUR", which is fine.
Entrepreneur versus business owner and founder
A business owner may have bought or inherited an existing firm and run it without starting anything new; they are owners, but not always entrepreneurs in the strict sense. A founder is the person who started a specific organization, which overlaps heavily with entrepreneur. A freelancer sells their own skills and may or may not see themselves as an entrepreneur. For more terms like revenue and profit, see business and money.
Frequently asked questions
How would you define entrepreneur for a child?
Say it is someone who opens their own business and accepts the chance that it might fail. If it succeeds, they keep a share of the profit.
How do you pronounce entrepreneur?
Say on-truh-pruh-NUR, putting the weight on the last part. Some Americans begin with "ahn" instead of "on".
Is a shopkeeper an entrepreneur?
Often, yes. If they started the shop with their own money and run it at their own risk, they fit the meaning. Someone simply employed to run a shop does not.
What is the meaning of entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is the activity of starting and building a business or venture. It covers spotting chances, raising money, taking risks and growing the idea.
What is a social entrepreneur?
A social entrepreneur starts a venture whose main goal is to solve a social or environmental problem, such as clean water or job training, while still trying to stay financially sustainable.
Can a student be an entrepreneur?
Yes. Age is not part of the meaning. A student who sells handmade cards online or runs a tutoring service is acting as an entrepreneur.