British Empire

American  

noun

1. a former collective term for the territories under the leadership or control of the British crown, including those in the Commonwealth of Nations and their colonies, protectorates, dependencies, and trusteeships.

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British Empire British  

noun

1. (formerly) the United Kingdom and the territories under its control, which reached its greatest extent at the end of World War I when it embraced over a quarter of the world's population and more than a quarter of the world's land surface

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British Empire Cultural  

1. The empire of Britain, which began in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries with the establishment of colonies in North America and ended in the twentieth century as dozens of nations, formerly British possessions, became independent. At the empire's greatest extent, around 1900, it included Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, vast portions of Africa, and many smaller territories throughout the world. The empire ceased to have an “emperor” in the late 1940s, when the British king renounced the title of emperor of India. The empire has been succeeded by the British Commonwealth, which was formed in 1931.

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Etymology

Origin of British Empire

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

She is in the International Swimming Hall of Fame and has a British Empire Medal for her dedication to swimming.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

They read Wong Kim Ark and other sources as having incorporated British common-law doctrine deeming anyone born in the British Empire a subject of the crown.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Ancient, patriarchal and oracular, Tennyson was not merely the poet laureate of England; he was, like his queen, a symbol of the British Empire.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

He was made a Commander of the British Empire in 2002 and knighted in 2015 for his public service, "particularly to the Church of England".

From BBC • Dec. 1, 2025

Will history remember me for my MBE, my British Empire honor for“chivalry,” or for my cooperation with the Gestapo?

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein