fiefdom

noun

fief·​dom ˈfēf-dəm 

plural fiefdoms

: an area over which someone exercises control as or in the manner of a feudal lord

The Seigneur could not sell his fiefdom without approval from the Queen.

—Timothy Foote

… he encouraged the notion that the company was an extension of himself, and certainly it had been argued over the years that in his spending habits he treated it as his personal fiefdom.

—Connie Bruck

These men began to run Brazil as their personal fiefdom.

—Sue Branford

… corruption and nepotism are as rife as ever, with regional party leaders running their local fiefdoms like mafia godfathers.

—Michael A. Hall

Synonyms

• area
• realm
• domain
• department
• element
• kingdom
• walk
• field
• sphere
• territory

Examples of fiefdom in a Sentence

you'll have to ask that guy—the project is his fiefdom

Recent Examples on the Web

Back at Viva Frontier Tower, after the morning rave and a full day of sessions on health and longevity, Ion, now dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, leads a few dozen attendees on a tour of his pop-up fiefdom. —Vittoria Elliott, Wired News, 26 Sep. 2025

True, two years after the attack, Hamas has lost thousands of fighters, control over the vast majority of its former Gaza Strip fiefdom, and the military means of conducting another spectacular attack on Israel. —Tom Rogan, The Washington Examiner, 26 Sep. 2025

It was set so far after the different kingdoms, fiefdoms and ruling factions have grown. —Jordan Moreau, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025

Han Fei wrote in the third century B.C.E., toward the end of the Warring States Period, a time in Chinese history when many large fiefdoms were combining to form a single nation. —Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1814, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fiefdom

• chiefdom