entrepreneurial

adjective

en·​tre·​pre·​neur·​ial ˌän-trə-p(r)ə-ˈnər-ē-əl 

-ˈn(y)u̇r-,

ˌäⁿn-

: having to do with the creation and development of economic ventures : of, relating to, characteristic of, or suited to an entrepreneur

entrepreneurial skills/ambitions/projects

entrepreneurial zeal

With your colleagues and the kids out of the way, what do you buy for that spouse or friend who's gone the entrepreneurial route and is working at home?

—Don Crabb

Harvard Business School, long known as a gateway to corporate America, last October established a beachhead in the nation's entrepreneurial epicenter, California's Silicon Valley.

—Marc Ballon

… economic development is more likely to occur (if at all) in the more entrepreneurial southern region.

—Sarah Searight

also : engaged or interested in the development of economic ventures

an ambitious and entrepreneurial young woman

a company founded by a group of entrepreneurial scientists

entrepreneurialism

ˌäⁿn-trə-p(r)ə-ˈnər-ē-ə-li-zəm 

-ˈn(y)u̇r-

ˌäⁿn-

noun

The map shows the distribution of high-tech manufacturing firms in the southeastern United States …, helping to identify towns and cities that are lodestones of high-tech entrepreneurialism.

—John Tierney

entrepreneurially

ˌäⁿn-trə-p(r)ə-ˈnər-ē-ə-lē 

-ˈn(y)u̇r-

ˌäⁿn-

adverb

… some 25 teams, drawn mostly from the ranks of universities and entrepreneurially minded engineers …

—Joseph Hooper

Examples of entrepreneurial in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To create a more inclusive entrepreneurial landscape, policies must focus on eliminating the biases that affect consumer behavior and encouraging more equitable market practices. —Tiffany Callender, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024

Their music tapped into hard knocks and entrepreneurial ambitions – but both wanted more than album sales and positive reviews. —Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY, 10 Dec. 2024

The city of 114,000 is 75% Latino and many of the more successful residents made it there with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. —Rachel Uranga, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2024

Having become the economic capital of the country, its entrepreneurial spirit continues to draw people from all over the continent. —Mary Holland, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above