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royalty

American  
[roi-uhl-tee] / ˈrɔɪ əl ti /

noun

plural

royalties

  1. royal persons collectively.

  2. royal status, dignity, or power; sovereignty.

    to be elevated to royalty.

  3. a person of royal lineage; member of a royal family.

  4. Archaic. royalties, prerogatives, rights, or symbolic emblems of a king, queen, or other sovereign.

  5. a royal domain; kingdom; realm.

  6. character or quality proper to or befitting a sovereign; nobility.

  7. the most well-known and admired member or members of a particular field or category.

    Her parents are Hollywood royalty. The brand is royalty among champagnes.

  8. a compensation or portion of the proceeds paid to the owner of a right, as a patent or oil or mineral right, for the use of it.

  9. an agreed portion of the income from a work paid to its author, composer, etc., usually a percentage of the retail price of each copy sold.

  10. a royal right, as over minerals, granted by a sovereign to a person or corporation.

  11. the payment made for such a right.

royalty British  
/ ˈrɔɪəltɪ /

noun

  1. the rank, power, or position of a king or queen

    1. royal persons collectively

    2. one who belongs to the royal family

  3. any quality characteristic of a monarch; kingliness or regal dignity

  4. a percentage of the revenue from the sale of a book, performance of a theatrical work, use of a patented invention or of land, etc, paid to the author, inventor, or proprietor

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
royalty Cultural  

  1. A payment made for some right or privilege, as when a publisher pays a royalty to an author for the author's granting the publisher the right to sell the author's book.

Other Word Forms

  • nonroyalty noun
  • preroyalty noun

Etymology

Origin of royalty

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English roialte, from Middle French, Old French roialté, derivative of roial; royal, -ty 2

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It was a huge beat on sales, helped by $21 million in royalty payments.

From Barron's

But the other siblings prefer not to draw attention to their candy royalty status, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Texas Pacific reported record oil and gas royalties, water sales volume, and produced water royalties for the fourth quarter and said it is having discussions with developers and potential customers for data-center projects.

From Barron's

Texas Pacific reported record oil and gas royalties, water sales volume, and produced water royalties for the fourth quarter and said it is having discussions with developers and potential customers for data-center projects.

From Barron's

The Fox sisters did make a return to the pages of the country’s major newspapers, alongside stories of railroad strikes, and state visits by European royalty.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.