imperial

UK/ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.əl//ɪmˈpɪɹ.i.əl/

imperial adjective: related to an empire, emperor, or empress.

Adjective (1)

imperial (comparative more imperial, superlative most imperial)

Related to an empire, emperor, or empress.
- the imperial diadem of Romec. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
Relating to the British imperial system of measurement.
- Using imperial units such as pounds makes fresh produce look cheaper than it really is, and it might be luring consumers away from frozen produce, which could possibly provide the same nutritional benefits at lower cost.2023, Patrick Lejtenyi, Food price perception can depend on whether it is measured in imperial or metric, according to new Concordia research, Concordia University News
Very grand or fine.
Of special, superior, or unusual size or excellence.
Stronger than typical. (Derived from the name of Russian Imperial stout, a strong dark beer.)
- Imperial pale ale, Imperial IPA, Imperial pilsner, Imperial milk stout, Imperial lager, Imperial mead

Noun (1)

imperial (countable and uncountable, plural imperials)

A bottle of wine (usually Bordeaux) containing 6 liters of fluid, eight times the volume of a standard bottle.
(paper) A writing paper size measuring 30 × 22 inches, or printing paper measuring 32 × 22 inches.
(uncountable) A card game differing from piquet in some minor details, and in having a trump.
(countable) Any of several combinations of cards which score in this game.
A crown imperial.
- There are who say the sonnet's meted maze
  Is all too fettered for the poet's powers,
  Compelled to crowd his flush and airy flowers
  Like pots of tall imperials, ill at ease.1816, John Freeman Milward Dovaston, The Sonnet
A tuft of hair on the lower lip (so called from its use by Napoleon III).

Synonyms:

royal
A kind of dome, as in Moorish buildings.
(historical) An outside or roof seat on a diligence or carriage.
- ...and she was just in time to see Mr. Boyne Sillery hand her aunt into a carriage, jump in himself, when it drove off with a rapidity which scarcely allowed her to observe that a large imperial was on the top, and her aunt's servant, with a huge bandbox, on the dickey.1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Romance and Reality. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, pages 134–135
(historical) A suitcase or trunk designed to be transported on the roof of a carriage.
- [T]he imperials were packed, and the post-chariot was at the door.1818, Thomas Love Peacock, chapter 3, in Nightmare Abbey, Hookham, published 1818
A variety of green tea.

Adjective (2) capitalized: Imperial

Imperial (not comparable)

(abbreviation, clipping) Clipping of Imperial Japanese.
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:Imperial.
Alternative letter-case form of imperial (“of alcohol: stronger”).

Proper noun capitalized: Imperial

Imperial

A city in Imperial County, California, United States.
A city, the county seat of Chase County, Nebraska, United States.
A town in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Imperial College London.
- He is now professor of infectious disease epidemiology at Imperial2020 April 5, “Coronavirus: tensions rise over scientists at heart of lockdown policy”, in The Times, London
A census-designated place in Pennsylvania, United States.
A census-designated place in Texas, United States.
An unincorporated community in Virginia, United States.
An unincorporated community in West Virginia, United States.
A former department of Chile.

Noun (2) capitalized: Imperial

Imperial (plural Imperials)

A large Bordeaux wine bottle with the capacity of about 6 liters, equivalent to 8 standard bottles.

Synonyms:

methuselah

imperial meaning in Urdu, Arabic, Indonesian and Persian

imperial in Arabic

related to an empire: إِمْبِرَاطُورِيّ ʔimbirāṭūriyy, مَلَكِيّ malakiyy

imperial in Persian

related to an empire: امپراتوری emperâturi

More languagesFewer languages

imperial in Vietnamese: thành nội, hoàng đế

Examples of imperial in a sentence

They miscalculated by assuming the dimensions were in imperial, not metric.
In imperial China, it was often a responsibility of the emperor to evaluate his predecessor after the latter's death.
He expounded often on the dangers of the imperial presidency.

All 40 example sentences with imperial

Synonyms of imperial

royal
methuselah
in old money

Forms of imperial

Adjective
comparative	more imperial
superlative	most imperial
Noun
plural	imperials
plural	Imperials

Origin of imperial

From Middle English imperial, from Old French imperial, from Latin imperiālis (“of the empire or emperor, imperial”), from imperium (“empire, imperial government”) + -ālis, from imperō (“command, order”), from im- (“form of in”) + parō (“prepare, arrange; intend”). Displaced Old English cāserlīċ.

Words formed from imperial

Phrases with imperial

29 more phrasesFewer phrases

Questions about imperial

What does imperial mean?: Imperial means related to an empire, emperor, or empress.
What is imperial in Urdu?: Imperial in Urdu is سامراجی, امپیریل, امپیریئل. See Imperial meaning in Urdu.
What part of speech is imperial?: Imperial can be an adjective, a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce imperial?: Imperial is pronounced /ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.əl/ (UK).

Words near imperial in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: imperial (page history and authors); Imperial (page history and authors); imperial (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-imperial.ogg.

Cite this entry: “imperial.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/imperial. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.