tycoon

noun

ty·​coon tī-ˈkün How to pronounce tycoon (audio)
1
a
: a businessperson of exceptional wealth, power, and influence : magnate
b
: a top leader (as in politics)
2
: shogun

Examples of tycoon in a Sentence

an oil tycoon who's widely considered the most powerful man in the county
Recent Examples on the Web Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ decadeslong friendship with real estate tycoon Harlan Crow and Samuel Alito’s luxury travel with billionaire Paul Singer have raised questions about influence and ethics at the nation's highest court. Joshua Kaplan, ProPublica, 13 Nov. 2023 Both Jay and his wife of 60-some years, Jackie, have passed, and tax records show the property was sold by their family and heirs almost five years ago to a corporate entity linked to a Seattle-area assisted-living community tycoon for $18.125 million. Mark David, Robb Report, 28 Oct. 2023 But when a Middle Eastern tycoon dispatches international mercenaries to kidnap the zoo’s baby pandas, Chan, playing a version of himself as an international action star, is forced to get involved in a rescue mission. Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Oct. 2023 At the heart of the tangle of conflicting claims sits the relationship between an American tech boy wonder and an older Russian tycoon. Elizabeth Dwoskin, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2023 Kardashian was named tycoon of the year at the awards ceremony after successfully launching a men’s collection from her shapewear brand, SKIMs. Clare Fisher, Peoplemag, 17 Nov. 2023 His reinvention as a property tycoon opening Puerto Rico to the wealthy is proving trickier. Caitlin McCabe, WSJ, 16 Nov. 2023 One day in 2010, an e-mail from Steve Wentzel, the Zimbabwean tycoon, arrived in the in-box of one of South Pole’s founders—a tall, bluff German man named Christian Dannecker. Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023 Solitude Mountain Resort Ski or snowboard across 1,200 acres and 82 different runs at this mountain resort, first founded by a uranium mining tycoon in the 1950s. Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 5 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tycoon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Japanese taikun

First Known Use

1857, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of tycoon was in 1857

Dictionary Entries Near tycoon

Cite this Entry

“Tycoon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tycoon. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

tycoon

noun
ty·​coon tī-ˈkün How to pronounce tycoon (audio)
: a very wealthy and powerful business person
Etymology

Japanese taikun "shogun"

More from Merriam-Webster on tycoon

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