proprietary
noun
pro·pri·e·tary
| \ prə-ˈprī-ə-ˌter-ē
\
\
plural proprietaries
Definition of proprietary
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: one that possesses, owns, or holds exclusive right to something
specifically
: proprietor sense 1
2
: something that is used, produced, or marketed under exclusive legal right of the inventor or maker
specifically
: a drug (such as a patent medicine) that is protected by secrecy, patent, or copyright against free competition as to name, product, composition, or process of manufacture
3
: a business secretly owned by and run as a cover for an intelligence organization
proprietary
adjective
pro·pri·e·tary
| \ prə-ˈprī-ə-ˌter-ē
\
\
Definition of proprietary (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of an owner or title holder
proprietary rights
2
: used, made, or marketed by one having the exclusive legal right
a proprietary process proprietary software
3
: privately owned and managed and run as a profit-making organization
a proprietary clinic
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Examples of proprietary in a Sentence
Adjective
By allowing less favorable results to remain buried, the agency puts proprietary interests ahead of the public interest, and doctors and the public come to believe prescription drugs are better than they are. That should stop. — Marcia Angell, New York Review of Books, 8 June 2006 It is a proprietary faith: no one better tell me what to do with my own land. — Lance Morrow, Time, 11 Sept. 2000 Many veterans have adopted a proprietary attitude toward the war, and they can get a bit belligerent about it. — Nicholas Proffitt, New York Times Book Review, 21 May 1989 The investors have a proprietary interest in the land. The computer comes with the manufacturer's proprietary software. “Merriam-Webster” is a proprietary name. The journalist tried to get access to proprietary information.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The battery is charged via a proprietary USB charging cable with a magnetic connector. — Dallas News, "Magic? Handheld translator helps you communicate using artificial intelligence," 18 July 2019 Samsung nixed the proprietary charging port and instead included two Thunderbolt 3 ports that can charge the device. — Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, "Samsung teases new Notebook 9 Pen with 15-hour battery life before CES 2019," 13 Dec. 2018 Young and other Vanguard researchers partnered with actuaries at Mercer Health and Benefits consulting firm to create a proprietary model based on what retired people actually spend on health care. — Liz Weston | Nerdwallet.com, oregonlive.com, "Here’s what health care really will cost you in retirement," 8 June 2019 Plus, Chinese users largely stick to platform-agnostic messaging and payment services such as WeChat, as opposed to Apple’s proprietary iMessage. — Joanna Stern, WSJ, "iPhone XR Revisited: The Best iPhone Apple Can’t Sell," 7 Jan. 2019 Earlier this year, reports suggested that Apple might kill its proprietary Lightning port by transitioning its next iPhone over to the USB Type-C port that virtually all Android devices (and some computers, including new Apple MacBooks) use. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "Why the iPhone Won't Dump Lightning for USB-C Even Though the iPad Pro Did," 11 Feb. 2019 Similarly, some tribal stakeholders stated that providers heavily redacted deployment information (which providers may consider proprietary) or required the tribe [to] sign non-disclosure agreements to access deployment data. — Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, "FCC data exaggerates broadband access on tribal lands," 11 Sep. 2018 The cable is exactly as its name describes: one end of the six-foot cord has Microsoft’s proprietary Surface Connect adapter, while the other end is a standard USB-C plug. — Dan Seifert, The Verge, "This cable lets you charge your Surface Pro or Laptop from a USB-C battery," 18 Dec. 2018 And, critically, the same array of ports: one full-size USB 3.1 generation 1 Type-A port, mini-DisplayPort, the proprietary Surface Connect port, a 3.5mm headset jack, and a microSDXC card reader. — Peter Bright, Ars Technica, "Surface Pro 6 and Surface Laptop 2: New internals, new color, old ports," 3 Oct. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
The low-hanging fruit was a series of standalone proprietary-trading units that were producing almost $5 billion a year for the biggest banks. — Los Angeles Times, "Volcker rule finally gets revised, but Wall Street is different now," 20 Aug. 2019 Where there are gaps in radar data, unlike with other weather apps, ClimaCell’s app will fill them using its proprietary ‘‘weather of things’’ data. — Jason Samenow, BostonGlobe.com, "ClimaCell weather app alerts when it’s about to rain, down to the minute, around the world," 12 Aug. 2019 And those controllers use standard USB, not a proprietary connector. — Nick Statt, The Verge, "Sony’s PlayStation Classic is as simple and fun as you’d expect," 8 Nov. 2018 The company has in the past treated that information as proprietary. — Los Angeles Times, "Senators urge EBay, Amazon and Google to restrict sales of assault-rifle parts," 9 Aug. 2019 Older models used to require complicated docks and proprietary cables, but now a simple USB-C cable—like the one that comes in the box with a Note 10—will transform the phone into a computer. — Mike Murphy, Quartz, "Samsung unveils the gigantic Note 10 and Note 10+," 7 Aug. 2019 Equinox recently opened a standalone running studio called Precision Run, which features proprietary Woodway treadmills with software that is custom designed to work with the instructor’s guidance. — Natt Garun, The Verge, "Equinox will start selling its own Peloton-like bikes and treadmills this winter," 7 Aug. 2019 Developed by the Italian textile mill Aquafil, Econyl is a proprietary material made from up-cycling industrial nylon waste like fishing nets and carpets. — Steff Yotka, Vogue, "Prada’s Re-Nylon Project Turns Your Favorite Backpack Into a Sustainable Accessory," 5 Aug. 2019 The software and services company, now based in Utah, created anti-spam technology to help governments enforce laws, users maintain email privacy and marketers protect their proprietary contact lists. — Robert Channick, chicagotribune.com, "Cloudflare founder, who took down 8chan message board used by accused El Paso massacre suspect, has Chicago tech and law roots," 5 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'proprietary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for proprietary
proprietary
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of proprietary
formal
: of or like that of an owner
: used, made, or sold only by the particular person or company that has the legal right to do so
: kept private by an owner
See the full definition for proprietary in the English Language Learners Dictionary
proprietary
noun
pro·pri·e·tary
| \ p(r)ə-ˈprī-ə-ˌter-ē
\
\
plural proprietaries
Medical Definition of proprietary
(Entry 1 of 2)
: something that is used, produced, or marketed under exclusive legal right of the inventor or maker
specifically
: a drug (as a patent medicine) that is protected by secrecy, patent, or copyright against free competition as to name, product, composition, or process of manufacture