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

White House border czar Tom Homan said Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to increase its immigration operations in New York City. —Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 19 Nov. 2025

Immigration and Customs Enforcement will increase operations in New York City due to its status as a sanctuary city, White House border czar Tom Homan said Tuesday. —Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 18 Nov. 2025

Jonathan Kanter, the competition czar in Biden’s Justice Department, has likened the UnitedHealth amalgamation to Amazon. —Elisabeth Rosenthal, Miami Herald, 11 Nov. 2025

The remarks sparked a firestorm and the ire of AI czar David Sacks. —Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 11 Nov. 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