czar

noun

ˈzär  ˈ(t)sär 

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

ˈzär-dəm  ˈ(t)sär- 

noun

or less commonly tsardom or tzardom

Synonyms of czar

• magnate
• tycoon
• king

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 council is co-chaired by White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks and White House science adviser Michael Kratsios. —Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 27 May 2026

Earlier this month, Trump’s counterterrorism czar, Sebastian Gorka, released a public counterterrorism strategy claiming that left-wing extremists are one of the three top counterterrorism priorities facing the United States. —Daniel Boguslaw, ArsTechnica, 27 May 2026

If that rearrangement of duties is enacted, the next governor would be a virtual czar of the nation’s largest public education system. —Dan Walters, Mercury News, 27 May 2026

If that rearrangement of duties is enacted, the next governor would be a virtual czar of the nation’s largest public education system. —Dan Walters, Oc Register, 26 May 2026

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

Rhymes for czar

• ar
• are
• bar
• barr
• car
• carr
• char
• charr
• far
• farre
• haar
• har

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