a person or company whose business is the publishing of books, periodicals, engravings, computer software, etc.
2.
the business head of a newspaper organization or publishing house, commonly the owner or the representative of the owner.
Origin
1425-75;late Middle English: one who proclaims publicly; see publish, -er1
Examples from the web for publisher
It would appear that the dramatist was especially exposed to the predatory habits of the piratical publisher.
The methods employed by the bookseller and publisher for advertising his books are mainly a matter of surmise.
It may even be doubted whether he ever hawked his manuscript about in order to secure a publisher.
Its success for the moment is the affair of the publisher alone.
The author's success is of a wholly different kind from that of the publisher, and he is thoughtless who demands both.
They sold for twenty-five cents each, without profit to either editor or publisher.
His position was entirely different from that of the ordinary printer or publisher.
publisher after publisher read it, and it didn't make a significant impression.
They cost two and a half pence, the same as ten cigarettes, the publisher touted.
Today, more than ever, you also have to become your publisher's partner.
British Dictionary definitions for publisher
publisher
/ˈpʌblɪʃə/
noun
1.
a company or person engaged in publishing periodicals, books, music, etc
2.
(US & Canadian) the proprietor of a newspaper or his representative
Word Origin and History for publisher
n.
mid-15c., "one who announces in public," agent noun from publish (v.). Meaning "one whose business is bringing out for sale books, periodicals, engravings, etc." is from 1740.