empire

Noun

empire (plural empires)

1. A political state, often a monarchy, that has achieved a much greater current size than its initial size by conquering surrounding territories, cities or nations.
   • the Russian empire
   • States and empires fail when they are no longer the solution, they are the problem.2022 February 7, Charles Hugh Smith, How Empires Die
2. A political unit ruled by an emperor or empress.
   • The Empire of Vietnam was a short-lived client state of Japan governing Vietnam between March 11 and August 23, 1945.
3. The group of states or other territories that owe allegiance to an imperial power (foreign to them), when distinguished from the native territory of that power; imperial possessions.
   • British people [...] continued to believe in empire. It was what gave Britain a unique role in the world, and in return Britain had drawn strength from its empire to enable it to survive two great wars that had wrecked so many of its competitors. Imperial management in the twentieth[…]2001 August 2, P. J. Marshall, The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 105
   • Since Britain imported mainly foodstuffs from its empire, no preferences could be granted to the colonies without Britain first imposing a tariff on foodstuffs imported from other countries.2021 April 13, Daniel Verdier, Democracy and International Trade: Britain, France, and the United States, 1860-1990, Princeton University Press, →ISBN, page 139
4. An expansive and powerful enterprise under the control of one person or group.
   • the McDonald's fast food empire
   • “Revenues for Jackson's non-profit empire sky-rocketed from $4 million in 1997, to more than $14 million just two years later.”2002, Evelyn L. Damore, The Rattle and Hiss of the Tin Gods, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 111
5. (Absolute) control, dominion, sway.
   • Each master whim maintains its hour of empire,
     And obstinately faithful to its dictates1781, Horace Walpole, The Mysterious Mother, Act 1 Scene 1
   • The brutality, the unthinking, the unreflecting character of the barbarians were so great, that the new faith, the new feelings with which they had been inspired, exercised but a very slight empire over them.1881, François Guizot, The History of Civilization from the Fall of the Roman Empire to the French Revolution..., page 122

Adjective capitalized: Empire

UK/ˈɛmpaɪə/US/ˈɛmpaɪɚ/

Empire (not comparable)

1. Following or imitating a style popular during the First French Empire (1804–1814).
   • However, the first style of this century was known as Empire furniture. It was a derivative of the French Empire furniture, popular at that time.1997, Mark McGrail, Furniture Brasses: A Short History of English Furniture Fittings, Armac Brassworks, →ISBN, page 21
   1. Having the waistline just below the bust; featuring an empire waist.
      • ...and for a moment he could not identify the lady in the Empire dress, nor imagine why her presence created such excitement among the initiated.1920, Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence, New York: Random House, →OCLC, page 17
2. (UK, dated) Produced in a dependency of the British Empire or Commonwealth of Nations.
   • Wine from Portugal and France showed an irregular downward tendency over the period, while Empire wine from Australia and British South Africa rose rapidly, the former increasing nearly threefold between 1925 and 1927.1966, Richard Stone, D.A. Rowe, The Measurement of Consumers' Expenditure and Behaviour in the United Kingdom, 1920-1938, volume 1, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →OCLC, page 179

Proper noun capitalized: Empire

UK/ˈɛmpaɪə/US/ˈɛmpaɪɚ/

Empire

1. (UK, abbreviation, clipping, dated) Clipping of British Empire.
   • With the eclipse of Empire, and the emergence of America and Russia, it was inevitable that we would lose comparative power and influence—and to be sure we have been in relative economic decline since the middle of the nineteenth century (when we were still producing two thirds of the world's...1979 March 31, Nicholas Henderson, Britain's Decline: Its Causes and Consequences
2. An unincorporated community in Walker County, Alabama.
3. An unincorporated community in Chicot County, Arkansas.
4. A census-designated place in Stanislaus County, California.
5. A town in Clear Creek County, Colorado, named after the Empire State.
6. A census-designated place and former town in Dodge County and Bleckley County, Georgia.
7. An unincorporated community and coal town in Christian County, Kentucky.
8. A census-designated place in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.
9. A township and village therein, in Leelanau County, Michigan.
10. An unincorporated community in Butler County, Missouri.
11. A census-designated place in Washoe County, Nevada.
12. A village in Knox Township, Jefferson County, Ohio.