licensee: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
B2Formal, Legal, Business
Quick answer
What does “licensee” mean?
A person or organization that holds a license, especially an official one granted by an authority.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A person or organization that holds a license, especially an official one granted by an authority.
In broader commercial contexts, a company granted rights to manufacture or sell a product under another company's brand name or intellectual property.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning. Spelling: UK English prefers 'licence' for the noun and 'license' for the verb; US English uses 'license' for both. However, the derivative 'licensee' is spelled identically in both variants.
Connotations
Neutral in both; carries the same legal/business formality.
Frequency
Slightly more frequent in UK contexts due to the historical prominence of licensing laws for pubs and broadcast media (e.g., BBC license fee).
Grammar
How to Use “licensee” in a Sentence
licensee of [something]licensee under [agreement/law]licensee for [product/territory]Vocabulary
Collocations
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Refers to a company that holds rights to use another's intellectual property, brand, or patented technology.
Academic
Used in legal, business, and media studies to discuss regulatory frameworks and intellectual property law.
Everyday
Most commonly encountered in the UK regarding the manager/owner of a pub who holds the alcohol license.
Technical
In law, a party to a licensing agreement who receives the rights. In broadcasting, an entity holding a government-issued license to operate a TV/radio station.
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “licensee”
- Confusing 'licensee' (receiver) with 'licensor' (giver).
- Using it as a verb (e.g., 'They licensed him' is correct; 'They licenseed him' is not).
- Misspelling as 'licenci' based on other languages.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The licensee is the party that receives the license (the holder). The licensor is the party that grants or issues the license (the owner/giver).
Yes, it can refer to any legal entity—an individual, a partnership, or a corporation—that holds a formal license.
It is specialized and most common in legal, business, and regulatory contexts. In everyday UK English, it is most familiar in the phrase 'pub licensee'.
It is pronounced /ˌlaɪ.sənˈsiː/, with the main stress on the final syllable '-see'. It rhymes with words like 'nominee' or 'referee'.
A person or organization that holds a license, especially an official one granted by an authority.
Licensee is usually formal, legal, business in register.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Tied to the licensee (obligated by license terms)”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: 'license' + '-ee'. The '-ee' suffix often indicates the person who *receives* an action (like employ*ee*, train*ee*). So a licensee *receives* a license.
Conceptual Metaphor
HOLDER OF A KEY (The license is a key granting access to certain rights or activities.)
Practice
Quiz
In a licensing agreement, who is the 'licensee'?