empire

noun em·pire \ ˈem-ˌpī(-ə)r \

|Updated on: 19 Aug 2018

Definition of empire

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

His previous book was a masterly study of the American empires of Britain and Spain.

— The Economist, "The siren call of separatism," 12 July 2018
And remember that a substantial part of Germany was in the Soviet empire and consists of people who are used to dealing with the Russians.

— Fox News, "Steve Bannon on NATO: Trump is saying 'no more games'," 12 July 2018
Hindsight is already incredibly kind to Rampage's tongue-in-cheek fun and action, and that's thanks to the triceratops-sized dump that the Crichton empire laid in June with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

— sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "Rampage is the awesome Jurassic World sequel we got—but didn’t deserve," 4 July 2018
Following Charlemagne’s death, the counts designated by the empire to rule over Catalonia became increasingly independent from the centralized power.

— kate keller, Smithsonian, "Beyond the Headlines, Catalan Culture Has a Long History of Vibrancy and Staying Power," 25 June 2018
Young Iranians learn that the 7th-century conquest and subsequent conversion to Islam of the once-mighty Persian empire by a much weaker Arab Muslim army was, in fact, an affirmation of Iran’s resilience.

— shervin malekzadeh, Washington Post, "What Trump doesn’t get about ideology in Iran. It’s about nationalism, not theocracy.," 25 June 2018
Burgers & Brewhouse's building is complete, the beer is kegged and servers are ready to greet customers Monday for the soft opening of the mini-empire's flagship restaurant and brewery.

— benjy egel, sacbee, "Former Burgers & Brew contractor sues for $1.2 million as brewery nears opening," 22 June 2018
Over the past four years, Rappaport had expanded the Foxwoods entertainment empire to include more restaurants and outdoor experiences, such as an ecotourism initiative and an open-air concert series.

— renae reints, Fortune, "Foxwoods CEO Felix Rappaport Dies at 65," 19 June 2018
Easterlin has been president of FBR and Roadrunner Records since January of 2016 while Nadel has been president of Elektra Records since January 2017, joining the Atlantic empire 21 years ago straight after college.

— hannah karp, Billboard, "Warner Music to Launch New 60-Person Record Company, Elektra Music Group," 18 June 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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

See Words from the same year