empire building
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of empire building
First recorded in 1895–1900
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One reason the Monroe doctrine and empire building went out of fashion was that colonies and client states wanted out.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 5, 2026
But their empire building has not been without its controversial moments, with questions raised about EG Group's governance and a fine for "appalling" safety breaches at a former company.
From BBC • Feb. 29, 2024
Shakespeare offers little room for arias, although Adams borrows from Dryden’s translations of Virgil’s “Aeneid” to give one to Caesar, who stands for the force of modernity in his empire building.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 16, 2022
It was a kind of careless cheerfulness that would make Pollyanna blush, but it was certainly in step with an age of empire building and confidence.
From Washington Post • Jul. 16, 2020
Generations of effort and centuries of time have gone into the empire building process.
From Civilization and Beyond Learning from History by Nearing, Scott
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
