empress

noun

em·​press ˈem-prəs 

1

: the wife or widow of an emperor

2

: a woman who is the sovereign or supreme monarch of an empire

Examples of empress in a Sentence

the Emperor and Empress of Japan

Catherine the Great was Empress of Russia.

Recent Examples on the Web

The fashion journalist and critic Alexander Fury credits Eugénie not only with introducing the color empress blue to the world but also with helping to popularize Louis Vuitton trunks. —Emma Specter, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2025

Armed with power tools, a crane lift and a plan straight out of a heist movie, four thieves broke into the Louvre on Sunday and made off with royal jewels once worn by France’s queens and empresses, officials told NBC News. —Mirna Alsharif, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2025

His most important client, during a fifty-year career, was an empress, but tsarinas, society mavens, actresses, and courtesans all came to rely on his expertise. —Leslie Camhi, New Yorker, 25 July 2025

There is only one queen at a time and should two reign, they are considered mother-daughter empresses. —Liza B. Zimmerman, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English emperice, emperes (with assimilation of the suffix to -esse -ess), borrowed from Anglo-French emperice, empereis, going back to Late Latin imperātrīc-, imperātrīx (Latin, "female general [used ironically]"), from Latin imperāre "to give orders, exercise authority, hold political power" + -trīc-, -trīx, feminine agent suffix — more at emperor

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

empress

noun

em·​press ˈem-prəs 

1

: the wife or widow of an emperor

2

: a woman who is the ruler of an empire