fief

noun

ˈfēf 

1

: a feudal estate : fee

2

: something over which one has rights or exercises control

a politician's fief

Did you know?

In European feudalism, a fief was a source of income granted to a person (called a vassal) by his lord in exchange for his services. The fief usually consisted of land and the labor of peasants who were bound to cultivate it. The income it provided supported the vassal, who was obliged to fight for his lord as a knight.

Synonyms of fief

• area
• domain
• realm
• department
• element
• kingdom
• walk
• field
• sphere
• province
• barony

Examples of fief in a Sentence

the logistics of the relief effort is the director's fief

Recent Examples on the Web

Two years later Portugal acquired Dadra, which became a kind of fief. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026

Opération des forces de l’ordre à Bas-Delmas, fief du chef de gang Babekyou, avec utilisation de drones kamikazes. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 16 Jan. 2026

Penn has long been a station divided, carved up into fiefs occupied and maintained by railroads whose managers constantly compete for authority and resources. — New York Times, 12 Nov. 2025

To appease tensions, John surrendered England to the pope in 1213, turning the kingdom into a papal fief. — Joëlle Rollo-Koster, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French, from Old French — more at fee

First Known Use

circa 1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for fief

• beef
• brief
• chief
• grief
• leaf
• lief
• reef
• reif
• seif
• sheaf
• thief
• belief

Kids Definition

fief

noun

ˈfēf 

: a feudal estate