czar

American  

[zahr, tsahr] / zɑr, tsɑr /

Or tsar,

noun

• czars
  plural

1. an emperor or king.

2. (often initial capital letter) the former emperor of Russia.

3. an autocratic ruler or leader.

4. any person exercising great authority or power in a particular field.

   a czar of industry.

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czar British  

/ zɑː /

noun

1. a variant spelling (esp US) of tsar

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czar Cultural  

1. The title of rulers or emperors of Russia from the sixteenth century until the Russian Revolution. The czars ruled as absolute monarchs (see absolute monarchy) until the early twentieth century, when a parliament was established in Russia. Czar can also be spelled tsar.

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Discover More

The term czar is sometimes applied generally to a powerful leader or to a government administrator with wide-ranging powers.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• czardom
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• czars
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of czar

First recorded in 1545–55; from Russian tsar', Old Russian tsĭsarĭ “emperor, king” (akin to Old Church Slavonic tsěsarĭ ), from Gothic kaisar “emperor” (from Greek or Latin ); Greek kaîsar, from Latin Caesar; see Caesar ( def. )

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Explanation

Czar is a Russian word for ruler or emperor. Those kinds of czars are long gone, but we still use the word to describe people in charge of something important. Up until the early 20th century, the ruler in Russia was a man called a czar who had total power, like an emperor or dictator. In English, czar has hung around as a word for anyone in charge of anything. If you run a book club, you might jokingly call yourself a book czar. In the U.S. government, people in charge of large departments are often called czars — like the housing czar or labor czar.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

czar czars

The czar role has been vacant since venture capitalist David Sacks left the position earlier this year to become co-chair of a White House technology advisory group.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

At the same time, he has promised to name an AI czar and set up an “AI Force,” which would be similar the U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

He left his czar role in March to be co-chair of a White House tech advisory council.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

White House czar Tom Homan defended the deportations in a recent CNN interview.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

The last czar, Nicholas II, resigned his power in March 1917.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

It’s the foundation for the entire sovereign debt market — and is so widely honored that in 2002, Russia was still paying obligations from the time of the czars.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

I have no love for czars, but control often passes to political systems that are much worse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2025

Urban renewal czars also cleared out lively urban neighborhoods from Boston to Los Angeles, and no major city was untouched by the urban expressway craze.

From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2024

The Russian Imperial Mission Society, which was founded by Romanov czars to support Orthodox mission work in Siberia and Alaska, gave the church many of the artifacts still kept there, Rivas said.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 28, 2023

I had read with awe how the Communists had sent phonetic experts into the vast regions of Russia to listen to the stammering dialects of peoples oppressed for centuries by the czars.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

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