capitalist

1 of 2

noun

cap·​i·​tal·​ist ˈka-pə-tə-list 

ˈkap-tə-

1

: a person who has capital especially invested in business

industrial capitalists

broadly : a person of wealth : plutocrat

Charitable organizations often seek help from capitalists.

2

: a person who favors capitalism

capitalist

2 of 2

adjective

variants or capitalistic

ˌka-pə-tə-ˈli-stik 

ˌkap-tə-

1

: owning capital

the capitalist class

2

a

: practicing or advocating capitalism

capitalist nations

b

: marked by capitalism

capitalist period of history

capitalistically

ˌka-pə-tə-ˈli-sti-k(ə-)lē 

ˌkap-tə-

adverb

Synonyms

Noun

• Croesus
• deep pocket
• fat cat
• have
• money
• moneybags
• plutocrat
• silk stocking

Examples of capitalist in a Sentence

Noun

capitalists who lost everything in the '29 Crash

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Dorsey, has since cut ties with Bluesky and left its board, saying in an interview with venture capitalist Mike Solana that its speech rules were against his original vision of a site in which content is not policed in any way by moderators. —Bobby Allyn, NPR, 19 Nov. 2024

Now the commission seeks to stop venture capitalist Vinod Khosla from turning coastal San Mateo County into his personal kingdom. —Joe Mathews, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024

Adjective

Shameless, just-in-time-for-holiday-shopping product placement is shoved in, from Mattel (Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots, Hot Wheels) and Hasbro (Monopoly), only alluding more to the capitalist imperatives that drove the project in the first place. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 6 Nov. 2024

The tough, gangsta image that defined late ’80s and early ’90s hip-hop had now been sanded down into something more aspirational and decidedly capitalist. —Kyndall Cunningham, Vox, 31 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably borrowed from French capitaliste "person possessing capital," from capital capital entry 2 + -iste -ist entry 1

Adjective

capital entry 2 + -ist entry 2, after capitalist entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1774, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1845, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing capitalist

• pre-capitalist

Kids Definition

capitalist

noun

cap·​i·​tal·​ist

ˈkap-ət-ᵊl-əst,

ˈkap-tᵊl-

1

: a person who has capital and especially business capital

2

: a person who supports capitalism