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

The news comes in the wake of the departure of Paramount’s global marketing and distribution boss Marc Weinstock and the imminent arrival of his replacement, former Warner Bros and Universal marketing czar Josh Goldstine. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2025

Rhode Island Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse later asked Bondi about the investigation into whether border czar Tom Homan received $50,000 as a bribe. —Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025

But that shifted Monday when White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the border czar. —Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 23 Sep. 2025

Ashish Jha, the dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health and the Biden administration’s COVID czar, agreed. —Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 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