variants or less commonly tsar or tzar
1
: emperor
specifically : the ruler of Russia until the 1917 revolution
2
: one having great power or authority
a banking czar
czardom noun
or less commonly tsardom or tzardom
ˈzär-dəm How to pronounce czar (audio)
ˈ(t)sär-

Examples of czar in a Sentence

a showbiz czar who is said to be able to make or break a career
Recent Examples on the Web The plotline hasn’t been changed — there’s still no place like home for Dorothy — but leave it to Nick Weir, Royal Caribbean’s envelope-pushing entertainment czar, to come up with a fresh take that shows tremendous heart, brains and courage for 90 mesmerizing minutes. David Dickstein, Orange County Register, 2 Feb. 2024 Larger companies should establish an AI czar (and possibly a team) to evaluate, manage and control AI usage. Expert Panel®, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024 The bill threatens something near and dear to members of the County Council: Their longstanding and legally questionable roles as virtual land use czars within their own councilmanic districts. David Plymyer, Baltimore Sun, 31 Jan. 2024 The Russian leader compares himself to Russian czars who expanded Russian territories, or to ancient princes. Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023 Willis joined the 49ers under coach Mike Nolan and personnel czar Scot McCloughan, but his greatest mentor proved to be Mike Singletary, who eventually got promoted to replace Nolan. Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2024 In the early 20th century, The Times regularly tut-tutted over antisemitism abroad, and deplored the pogroms that the Russian czar waged. Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 5 Jan. 2024 Even streetwear czars like Off-White have branched out from sneakers into easy boots and boat shoes. Faran Krentcil, WSJ, 22 Dec. 2023 Evidently unsatisfied with the Environmental Protection Agency as their energy policy maker, activists want to make blue-state judges into energy-policy czars. William P. Barr and Adam J. White, WSJ, 29 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'czar.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin czar, from Russian tsar', from Old Russian tsĭsarĭ, from Goth kaisar, from Greek or Latin; Greek, from Latin Caesar — more at caesar

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of czar was in 1555

Dictionary Entries Near czar

Cite this Entry

“Czar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/czar. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

czar

noun
variants also tsar or tzar
ˈzär
1
: the ruler of Russia until the 1917 revolution
2
: one having great power or authority
a baseball czar
czardom noun
also tsardom or tzardom
ˈzärd-əm
Etymology

Latin czar "czar," from Russian tsar' (same meaning), from early Russian tsǐsarǐ, tsěsarǐ "emperor," from a Germanic word kaisar "emperor," derived from Latin Caesar (title of a line of Roman emperors after Augustus Caesar) see Word History at emperor

More from Merriam-Webster on czar

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