Meanings
plural sleeping partners · alternative sleeping-partner
- IrelandUKA business partner who doesn't play an active role in running the day-to-day operations of a business, who instead, finances the business in the form of capital investment.
Somewhat later, the Frenchman Charles Fourier was ridiculed for expecting day by day the sleeping-partner to turn up who would invest in his Phalanstère plan, which was based on ideas very similar to those sponsored by one of the greatest contemporary experts on finance.
1957 [1944], Karl Polanyi, chapter 9, in The Great Transformation, Beacon Press: Boston, page 108Synonyms: silent partner
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA business partner who doesn't play an active role in running the day-to-day operations of a business, who instead, finances the business in the form of capital investment.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna partner (who usually provides capital) whose association with the enterprise is not public knowledge
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
German stiller Gesellschafter, stiller Teilhaber
- stiller Gesellschaftera business partner who is not involved in the day-to-day business, but puts up capital
- stiller Teilhabera business partner who is not involved in the day-to-day business, but puts up capital
Hungarian csendestárs
- csendestársa business partner who is not involved in the day-to-day business, but puts up capital
Indonesian mitra persero takkerja
- mitra persero takkerjaa business partner who is not involved in the day-to-day business, but puts up capital
Malay pekongsi tidur, rakan kongsi lelap
- pekongsi tidura business partner who is not involved in the day-to-day business, but puts up capital
- rakan kongsi lelapa business partner who is not involved in the day-to-day business, but puts up capital
Swedish passiv delägare
- passiv delägarea business partner who is not involved in the day-to-day business, but puts up capital
Cite this entry
sleeping partner. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sleeping%20partner
“sleeping partner.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sleeping%20partner. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sleeping partner,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sleeping%20partner.
Source: sleeping partner on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.