OWNERSHIP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ownership mean? 

• OWNERSHIP (noun)
  The noun OWNERSHIP has 3 senses:

1. the relation of an owner to the thing possessed; possession with the right to transfer possession to others

2. the act of having and controlling property

3. the state or fact of being an owner

  Familiarity information: OWNERSHIP used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OWNERSHIP (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The relation of an owner to the thing possessed; possession with the right to transfer possession to others

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("ownership" is a kind of...):

relation (an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ownership"):

community (common ownership)

severalty (exclusive individual ownership)

property right (the legal right of ownership)

proprietary; proprietorship (an unincorporated business owned by a single person who is responsible for its liabilities and entitled to its profits)

employee ownership (ownership of a business by the people who work for it)

landholding (ownership of land; the state or fact of owning land)

stockholding (ownership of stocks; the state or fact of holding stock)

Derivation:

owner ((law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business)

owner (a person who owns something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of having and controlling property

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

ownership; possession

Hypernyms ("ownership" is a kind of...):

control (the activity of managing or exerting control over something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ownership"):

actual possession ((law) immediate and direct physical control over property)

constructive possession ((law) having the power and intention to have and control property but without direct control or actual presence upon it)

criminal possession ((law) possession for which criminal sanctions are provided because the property may not lawfully be possessed or may not be possessed under certain circumstances)

holding; keeping; retention (the act of retaining something)

Derivation:

owner ((law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business)

owner (a person who owns something)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The state or fact of being an owner

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("ownership" is a kind of...):

state (the way something is with respect to its main attributes)

Derivation:

owner ((law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business)

owner (a person who owns something)

 Context examples 

I would have given a good deal to have been able to see the notice-board intact, as it would, perhaps, have given some clue to the ownership of the house.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Hunter, on recovering from his stupor, was also quite positive as to the ownership of the cravat.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Any written, printed, or graphic matter upon a device to identify its nature, ownership, or other characteristic particulars of the device.

(Label Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

"That very finger," he managed to articulate, as though it somehow clinched the proof of ownership and the bond of affection.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

This includes rights regarding publication, confidential information, ownership, use of data, intellectual property, and indemnification.

(Clinical Trial Agreement, NCI Thesaurus)

To Mr. Higginbotham such a dinner was advertisement of his worldly achievement and prosperity, and he honored it by delivering platitudinous sermonettes upon American institutions and the opportunity said institutions gave to any hard-working man to rise—the rise, in his case, which he pointed out unfailingly, being from a grocer's clerk to the ownership of Higginbotham's Cash Store.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Any display of a written, printed, or graphic matter upon the immediate container of any substance or device to identify something and to indicate the nature, ownership, contents and other characteristic particulars of the object.

(Medical Product Label, NCI Thesaurus)

NEUROLOGY 1996;47: 129-139). (Questionnaires and all related subscales, translations, and adaptations ('FACIT System') are owned and copyrighted by David Cella, Ph.D. The ownership and copyright of the FACIT System resides strictly with Dr. Cella.

(Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis Questionnaire, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

The researchers looked at the energy needed to meet cooling needs of populations exposed to heat stress by taking into account climatic conditions, type of housing, access to electricity and ownership of air conditioners.

(Billions at risk from heat stress at home, SciDev.Net)