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 How to pronounce czar (audio)
ˈ(t)sär-

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Sowell had paid Hall a $50,000 consulting fee as recently as February — right before Hall entered the border czar’s office working under Homan, government disclosure documents show. Avi Asher-Schapiro, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2025 That was Trump border czar Tom Homan. ABC News, 19 Oct. 2025 At a private event at the Indiana Statehouse on October 14, Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, told state lawmakers and law enforcement officials the administration had carried out nearly 550,000 removals since the Republicans returned to office. Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025 Venture capitalist David Sacks, who is now Trump’s AI and crypto czar, said after the news about Conway that Benioff could join the Republicans. Ari Levy, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for czar

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of czar was in 1555

Cite this Entry

“Czar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/czar. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.

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

More from Merriam-Webster on czar

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!