czar

noun

ˈzär  ˈ(t)sär 

variants or less commonly tsar or tzar

1

: emperor

specifically : the ruler of Russia until the 1917 revolution

2

: one having great power or authority

a banking czar

czardom noun

or less commonly tsardom or tzardom

ˈzär-dəm 

ˈ(t)sär-

Synonyms

• baron
• captain
• king
• lion
• lord
• magnate
• mogul
• monarch
• Napoleon
• prince
• tycoon

Examples of czar in a Sentence

a showbiz czar who is said to be able to make or break a career

Recent Examples on the Web

That was evident during the citywide immigration raids attended by Trump’s border czar Tom Homan and the TV personality Dr. Phil in January — and now in Wednesday’s courthouse arrests. —Laura Rodríguez Presa, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2025

Just two weeks into his tenure as the FDA’s new vaccine czar, Prasad seems to be taking the first steps toward turning this rhetoric into reality. —Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 21 May 2025

There’s a changing of the guard this year, with longtime NFL scheduling czar Howard Katz retiring. —Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2025

David Sacks, the White House AI and crypto czar, later said the rule alienated key U.S. allies and overreached on export control authority. —Miranda Nazzaro, The Hill, 9 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin czar, from Russian tsar', from Old Russian tsĭsarĭ, from Goth kaisar, from Greek or Latin; Greek, from Latin Caesar — more at caesar

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for czar

• ar
• are
• bar
• barr
• car
• carr
• char
• charr
• far
• farre
• haar
• har

Kids Definition

czar

noun

variants also tsar or tzar

ˈzär

1

: the ruler of Russia until the 1917 revolution

2

: one having great power or authority

a baseball czar

czardom noun

also tsardom or tzardom

ˈzärd-əm

Etymology

Latin czar "czar," from Russian tsar' (same meaning), from early Russian tsǐsarǐ, tsěsarǐ "emperor," from a Germanic word kaisar "emperor," derived from Latin Caesar (title of a line of Roman emperors after Augustus Caesar) see Word History at emperor