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

In late January, the president put border czar Tom Homan in charge of the crackdown, effectively demoting the Border Patrol’s Greg Bovino. —Jason Ma, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2026

Trump removed Noem from running the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis after the controversial killings of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration and border patrol agents, replacing her with border czar Tom Homan. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 5 Mar. 2026

Noem's confirmation out of the Senate sailed through, despite questions over how much money the agency was asking for to conduct immigration enforcement and policy directives coming from personnel high up at the White House, such as border czar Tom Homan. —Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 5 Mar. 2026

The president's decision earlier this year to put border czar Tom Homan, an internal rival of Noem, in charge of winding down the Minneapolis operation underscored his displeasure with her performance, two administration officials told CBS News. —Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 5 Mar. 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