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empire Definition

em·pire (em′pīr′; for adj., also ôm pē′ər, -pir′; -äm-)

noun

  1. supreme rule; absolute power or authority; dominion
    1. government by an emperor or empress
    2. the period during which such government prevails
    1. a group of states or territories under the sovereign power of an emperor or empress
    2. a state uniting many territories and peoples under a single sovereign power
  4. an extensive social or economic organization under the control of a single person, family, or corporation

Etymology: ME & OFr < L imperium < imperare: see emperor

adjective

of or characteristic of the first French Empire (1804-15) under Napoleon; specif.,

  1. designating a style of furniture of this period, characterized by massiveness, bronze ornamentation, and motifs of ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt
  2. designating a gown in the style of the period, with a short waist, décolleté bodice, flowing skirt, and short, puffed sleeves

empire Synonyms

empire

n.

domain, realm, union, federation; see imperialism, nation 1.

empire Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • overthrow: Sometimes this new tribalism can be a liberating thrust, as was the case when national movements overthrew the communist empire.
  • found: Ur-Nammu founded the empire, which stretched into Iran.
  • expand: Britain was a confident country at this time, with an expanding Empire.
  • weaken: Refusal to honor the gods was seen as an act of treachery, weakening the empire at the hour of its greatest need.
  • dismantle: Consider the likely reaction to having an empire dismantled overnight?
  • unite: In these years the soldier emperors were desperately trying to unite the empire against the external threat.

Adjective modifier

  • Byzantine: Many of today's popular icon compositions can be traced to their origin in the era of the Byzantine Empire.
  • British: In 2000 Trisha received the Order of the British Empire from her Majesty the Queen for Services to Evidence Based Medical Care.
  • Russian: Rebel Leon Trotsky was born in 1879 in what was then the Russian Empire.
  • Soviet: Exit - to cut a long story very short - the Soviet empire.
  • Carolingian: Even the Carolingian Empire of the early ninth century had only been a failed successor state to the Western Roman Empire.
  • colonial: At the time it was closely bound up with colonies but it was by no means restricted to colonial empire.

Modifies a noun

  • Strike: The band's brand new album, titled The Empire Strikes Back, is set for release in June.
  • builder: To them, the Irish had become second class citizens in the world's greatest empire builder.

Noun used with modifier

  • colonial: In the second panel, Companies and Colonies, speakers looked at the relation between Scots and the Dutch colonial empire.
  • Viking: Without the Viking Empire vote, Latvia's victory would have been far narrower.
  • media: DYNAMIC, ENERGETIC AND EXCITING BACARDI BREEZER has just struck a juicy £ 1 million deal with the EMAP media empire.
  • publishing: She was the heiress of the Hirst publishing empire, the daughter of wealthy and powerful parents, a young woman of great privilege.
  • trading: It was once the seat of one of the great trading empires of the ancient world, and is evocative of the past.
  • slave: The Inca ruling classes presided over a totalitarian slave empire.