royalty
noun
roy·al·ty
ˈrȯi(-ə)l-tē 
plural royalties
1
a
: royal status or power : sovereignty
b
: a right or perquisite of a sovereign (such as a percentage paid to the crown of gold or silver taken from mines)
2
: regal character or bearing : nobility
3
a
: persons of royal lineage
b
: a person of royal rank
how to address royalties—
George Santayana
George Santayana
c
: an elite class
4
: a right of jurisdiction granted to an individual or corporation by a sovereign
5
a
: a share of the product or profit reserved by the grantor especially of an oil or mining lease
b
: a payment to an author or composer for each copy of a work sold or to an inventor for each item sold under a patent
Examples of royalty in a Sentence
It was an honor and a privilege to dine with royalty.
On our wedding day, we were treated like royalty.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jason and Robert Schwartzman; Talia Shire Herself a member of Hollywood royalty as Adrian in Rocky, Connie Corleone in The Godfather series, and real-life sister to Francis Ford Coppola, Talia Shire also offered the world gifted offspring.
—Aja Hoggatt, EW.com, 29 May 2024
And as the 77th annual gathering begins to draw to a close, two members of Hollywood royalty are finding themselves in uncomfortable positions.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 21 May 2024
The intricacies of music publishing and royalties make the battle an inherently complex issue.
—Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 21 May 2024
Even Hollywood royalty has been duly impressed by its grandeur.
—Hadley Meares, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for royalty 
Aja Hoggatt, EW.com, 29 May 2024
And as the 77th annual gathering begins to draw to a close, two members of Hollywood royalty are finding themselves in uncomfortable positions.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 21 May 2024
The intricacies of music publishing and royalties make the battle an inherently complex issue.
—Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 21 May 2024
Even Hollywood royalty has been duly impressed by its grandeur.
—Hadley Meares, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for royalty
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'royalty.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Royalty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/royalty. Accessed 8 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
royalty
noun
roy·al·ty
ˈrȯi(-ə)l-tē
plural royalties
1
: royal status or power
2
: royal character or conduct
3
: members of a royal family
4
a
: a share of a product or profit (as of a mine) claimed by the owner for allowing another to use the property
b
: a payment made to the owner of a patent or copyright for the use of it
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