Meaning

A political state, often a monarchy, that has achieved a much greater current size than its initial size by conquering surrounding territories, cities or nations..

Definitions by Sense

1. A political state, often a monarchy, that has achieved a much greater current size than its initial size by conquering surrounding territories, cities or nations.
2. A political unit ruled by an emperor or empress.
3. The group of states or other territories that owe allegiance to an imperial power (foreign to them), when distinguished from the native territory of that power; imperial possessions.
4. An expansive and powerful enterprise under the control of one person or group.
5. (Absolute) control, dominion, sway.
6. Alternative letter-case form of Empire.

Example Sentences

the Russian empire

States and empires fail when they are no longer the solution, they are the problem.

The Empire of Vietnam was a short-lived client state of Japan governing Vietnam between March 11 and August 23, 1945.

British people [...] continued to believe in empire. It was what gave Britain a unique role in the world, and in return Britain had drawn strength from its empire to enable it to survive two great wars that had wrecked so many of its competitors. Imperial management in the twentieth[…]

Since Britain imported mainly foodstuffs from its empire, no preferences could be granted to the colonies without Britain first imposing a tariff on foodstuffs imported from other countries.

the McDonald's fast food empire

“Revenues for Jackson's non-profit empire sky-rocketed from $4 million in 1997, to more than $14 million just two years later.”

The Mafia never forgave Castro but Lansky had already laid the foundations of a mob gambling empire all over the Caribbean […]

Word Forms

• empires

Synonyms for empire

Related Words

When Should You Use Empire?

Use empire when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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