empire

noun em·pire \ ˈem-ˌpī(-ə)r \

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

1 a (1) : a major political unit having a territory of great extent or a number of territories or peoples under a single sovereign authority; especially : one having an emperor as chief of state

(2) : the territory of such a political unit

b : something resembling a political empire; especially : an extensive territory or enterprise under single domination or control

2 : imperial sovereignty, rule, or dominion

3 capitalized

[Empire State, nickname for New York]

: a juicy apple with dark red skin that is a cross between a McIntosh apple and a Red Delicious apple

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Examples of empire in a Sentence

She built a tiny business into a worldwide empire.
He controlled a cattle empire in the heart of Texas.

Recent Examples of empire from the Web

And while the new digs mean Conger's pastry department will expand into retail offerings of wedding cakes and the like, Rigato is adamant that the move doesn't signify a growing Hazel Park empire.

— mark kurlyandchik, Detroit Free Press, "Mabel Gray team revives classic Hazel Park ice-cream stand Doug's Delight," 9 Apr. 2018
On the West Coast, Harvey Weinstein sat atop a movie empire.

— marie simoneaux, NOLA.com, "Florida woman blames the wind for the cocaine found in her purse: report," 8 Apr. 2018
And Ruis, an El Cajon native who built a scaffolding empire, soaked in an up-close scouting report of his chief rival with a Derby spot already safely locked in.

— bryce miller, sandiegouniontribune.com, "El Cajon's Mick Ruis tripped at Santa Anita, but Kentucky Derby dream remains robustly alive," 7 Apr. 2018
Beginning Thursday morning, double-decker buses drove east on Market Street, carrying the team that was staking its claim as a Philadelphia sports empire.

— anna orso, Philly.com, "Jay Wright and Villanova Wildcats parade down Market Street, staking claim as Philly icons," 5 Apr. 2018
Google has a huge empire called AdWords, and people bid in a real-time auction to optimize their content.

— sean illing, Vox, "How search engines are making us more racist," 3 Apr. 2018
Once upon a time there lived a beautiful young girl in one of the fairest cities of a big and mighty empire.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "The Wolves," 2 Apr. 2018
Steve Ross has built a $12 billion real estate empire using leadership, planning and execution.

— omar kelly, Sun-Sentinel.com, "After a decade of struggles, Dolphins’ Ross questioned offseason moves but understands why they were done," 27 Mar. 2018
The users who built Facebook's empire can always become its undoing, Nir Kaissar writes for Bloomberg Gadfly.

— samantha schulz, Bloomberg.com, "Your Evening Briefing," 26 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'empire.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of empire

Middle English, "supreme power, position of an emperor, territory under an emperor's rule," borrowed from Anglo-French, going back to Latin imperium "authority over family members and slaves exercised by the head of a household, supreme administrative authority, dominion, power exercised by a Roman emperor," from imperāre "to give orders, exercise authority, hold political power" + -ium, deverbal suffix of function or state — more at emperor

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First Known Use: 14th century

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