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• baron
  baron

  noun

  a member of the lowest grade of nobility.
• Baron
  Baron

  noun

  Michel Michel Boyron, 1653–1729, French actor.

baron

¹ American  

[bar-uhn] / ˈbær ən /

noun

• barons
  plural

1. a member of the lowest grade of nobility.

2. (in Britain)

   1. a feudal vassal holding his lands under a direct grant from the king.

   2. a direct descendant of such a vassal or his equal in the nobility.

   3. a member of the House of Lords.

3. an important financier or industrialist, especially one with great power in a particular area.

   an oil baron.

4. a cut of mutton or lamb comprising the two loins, or saddle, and the hind legs.

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Baron ² American  

[ba-rawn] / baˈrɔ̃ /

noun

1. Michel Michel Boyron, 1653–1729, French actor.

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baron British  

/ ˈbærən /

noun

1. a member of a specific rank of nobility, esp the lowest rank in the British Isles

2. (in Europe from the Middle Ages) originally any tenant-in-chief of a king or other overlord, who held land from his superior by honourable service; a land-holding nobleman

3. a powerful businessman or financier

   a press baron

4. English law (formerly) the title held by judges of the Court of Exchequer

5. short for baron of beef

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• barons
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of baron

1200–50; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French < Late Latin barōn- (stemof barō ) man < Germanic; sense “cut of beef ” perhaps by analogy with the fanciful analysis of sirloin as “Sir Loin”

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Explanation

A baron is a nobleman — a member of the aristocracy. Barons are also important, powerful businessmen with huge influence over their industries. In Britain, a baron is called “Lord,” but in the States, we call them “rich.” Barons are members of the aristocracy — wealthy people born into power and influence. How high a baron ranks depends on the country, but the title always carries respect. Similarly, a business leader who is rich, powerful, and influential is a baron. The term is used in phrases such as oil baron and baron of industry. You can also call that kind of baron a big businessman, magnate, mogul, top executive, or tycoon.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

baron Baron barons

Digger sees Cruise transformed into a grey-haired oil baron who has to clean up his environmental mess, and is directed by Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

Billionaire oil baron Harold Hamm told reporters Wednesday that he wouldn’t support an export ban.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

In “Digger,” he returns to serious cinema caked in prosthetics playing an oil baron who causes a global meltdown.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

And at the heart of it is Alejandro Betancourt López, the Venezuelan oil baron who heads the Barbados-registered firm.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

The baron who had drafted my brother would still be bearing sway over our village.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

Baron Cohen said he was "beyond delighted" to be working with Tarantino, saying: "When the best director in the world calls, you don't ask questions."

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

Alternatively, Baron said those who prefer more privacy could "start really gently at home with some resistance bands and a programme".

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Adam Baron, a fellow at US-based think tank New America, said the Houthi offensive since Thursday had "shattered much of what was left of Yemen's tenuous ceasefire".

From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026

“Test scores are a difficult outcome to move because they’re a function of many things both inside and outside of school,” Baron says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

There was Baron Hoover and his wife, the baroness, and the Earl of Maytag, who looked sardonic as ever.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

GNP, a hedge against AI robots stealing all of the remaining sports jobs, but maybe also a rickety business propped up by advertising from gambling barons and their crazy cousins in the prediction markets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

In 1826, young Benjamin Disraeli popularized the word “millionaire” to describe the new industrial barons in his novel “Vivian Grey.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

Clark did not outline how a "brake pedal" for AI research and development could be created, but drew a parallel between AI and the oil boom and barons of the turn of the last century.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

Morgan and steel magnate Andrew Mellon were known as “robber barons External link.”

From Barron's ● May 2, 2026

And thus, from the ambitions of the priests are born the disorders and the quarrels among the barons.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

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Related Words

• aristocrat

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