mogul

1 of 2

noun (1)

mo·​gul ˈmō-(ˌ)gəl 

1

or less commonly moghul

ˈmō-(ˌ)gəl 

or mughal

ˈmü-(ˌ)gəl 

capitalized : an Indian Muslim of or descended from one of several conquering groups of Mongol, Turkish, and Persian origin

especially : great mogul

2

: a great personage : magnate

Hollywood moguls

industry moguls

mogul adjective

or less commonly moghul or mughal

often capitalized

mogul

2 of 2

noun (2)

mo·​gul ˈmō-gəl 

: a bump in a ski run

Did you know?

Started by Bābur, a descendant of Genghis Khan, the Muslim Mogul dynasty ruled much of India from the early 16th century to the mid-18th century. The Moguls (whose name is also spelled Moghul or Mughal) were known for their talented and powerful rulers (called "Great Moguls"), so it's no surprise that in English the word mogul came to denote a powerful person, as in today's familiar references to "media moguls." Skiers might wonder if such power moguls have anything to do with the name they use for a bump in a ski run, but that hilly homonym has nothing to do with Asian Mogul dynasties. We picked up the skier's mogul from German dialect, from a word that is probably related to the Viennese mugl, meaning "small hill."

Examples of mogul in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In October 2022, Lopez and husband Ben Affleck joined Ridinger in celebrating the life of the late mogul, who was a prominent figure in the Miami scene, along with several stars including Kim Kardashian, Alicia Keys, Jamie Foxx and Ja Rule in Miami Beach, Florida. —Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 22 Nov. 2023

Cox, who played mogul titan Logan Roy, delivered the line to his children before his untimely death one episode later, and his words haunted his children through the end of the series — and, as the audience is left to imagine, beyond the series fading to black. —Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Nov. 2023

The Fenty Beauty mogul and rapper are parents to 1-year-old RZA and 3-month-old Riot Rose. —Starr Bowenbank, Billboard, 20 Nov. 2023

The chronically savvy business mogul had something else up his sleeve. —Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2023

Former Bad Boy recording artist Cassie has settled a lawsuit filed against Sean Combs that accused the music mogul of rape. —William Earl, Variety, 18 Nov. 2023

The producer and media mogul denies the allegations. —Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 17 Nov. 2023

YouTube’s global head of music, veteran music mogul Lyor Cohen, who helped launch the careers of artists including Public Enemy, Run-DMC, and the Beastie Boys, told WIRED on Wednesday that he was blown away after hearing a demo of its output at Google DeepMind’s London headquarters in May. —WIRED, 16 Nov. 2023

The one-hour special, drawn from a three-hour interview, covers the rapper and mogul’s childhood, his business career, the Knowles-Carter family, and the stories behind his lyrics. —Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 15 Nov. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Persian Mughul, from Mongolian mongγol Mongol

Noun (2)

German dialect; akin to German dialect (Viennese) mugl small hill

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1588, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1956, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

mogul

1 of 2 noun

mo·​gul ˈmō-(ˌ)gəl 

mō-ˈgəl

1

also moghul or mughal capitalized : an Indian Muslim of or descended from a family of Turkish and Mongolian origin that ruled India from the 16th to the 18th century

2

: an important person : magnate

mogul adjective often capitalized

mogul

2 of 2 noun

mo·​gul ˈmō-gəl 

: a bump on a ski slope

Etymology

Noun

Persian Mughul "mogul," from Mongolian mongγol "Mongol"

Noun

from German dialect