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
After Whitney Houston died in 2012, an estate tax dispute arose with the IRS over the value of her entertainment royalties, residual income, and other assets.
—Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2025
Busta Rhymes then posed for photos alongside LL COOL J, radio royalty Big Boy, Chuck D and Big Daddy Kane.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 1 Aug. 2025
Headlined by former New Edition crooner Johnny Gill, the lineup will also include rap royalty Big Daddy Kane, Harlem’s own Doug E. Fresh and dancefloor diva Crystal Waters.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 31 July 2025
Neeson also dated Helen Mirren and Barbra Streisand before meeting Natasha Richardson, a member of British acting royalty, while starring together in a Broadway revival of a Eugene O’Neill play.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for royalty
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Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2025
Busta Rhymes then posed for photos alongside LL COOL J, radio royalty Big Boy, Chuck D and Big Daddy Kane.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 1 Aug. 2025
Headlined by former New Edition crooner Johnny Gill, the lineup will also include rap royalty Big Daddy Kane, Harlem’s own Doug E. Fresh and dancefloor diva Crystal Waters.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 31 July 2025
Neeson also dated Helen Mirren and Barbra Streisand before meeting Natasha Richardson, a member of British acting royalty, while starring together in a Broadway revival of a Eugene O’Neill play.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for royalty
Cite this Entry
“Royalty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/royalty. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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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