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 noun

or less commonly tsardom or tzardom

ˈzär-dəm 

ˈ(t)sär-

Synonyms

• magnate
• tycoon
• king
• prince
• captain
• baron
• mogul

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

Shortly before Trump’s flagship domestic policy bill passed in early July, border czar Tom Homan told a conservative Christian conference that immigration agencies were just getting started. —Nicole Foy, ProPublica, 31 July 2025

Trump would take public comments until then, the White House and AI czar David Sacks (himself a tech mogul) said. —Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 23 July 2025

The think tank’s current alumni in government include White House budget chief Russ Vought and border czar Tom Homan. —Miriam Waldvogel, The Hill, 19 July 2025

Administration officials speaking at the summit include White House crypto czar David Sacks, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Energy Secretary Chris Wright. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 15 July 2025

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