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• mogul
  mogul

  noun

  a bump or mound of hard snow on a ski slope.
• Mogul
  Mogul

  noun

  any of the Mongol conquerors of India who established an empire that lasted from 1526 to 1857, but held only nominal power after 1803.

mogul

¹ American  

[moh-guhl] / ˈmoʊ gəl /

noun

moguls plural

1. a bump or mound of hard snow on a ski slope.

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Mogul ² American  

[moh-guhl, -guhl, moh-guhl] / ˈmoʊ gəl, -gʌl, moʊˈgʌl /

Also Moghul,

noun

1. any of the Mongol conquerors of India who established an empire that lasted from 1526 to 1857, but held only nominal power after 1803.

2. any of their descendants.

3. (lowercase) an important, powerful, or influential person.

   a mogul of the movie industry.

4. a Mongol or Mongolian.

5. Railroads. a steam locomotive having a two-wheeled front truck, six driving wheels, and no rear truck.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Moguls or their empire.

Mogul ¹ British  

/ məʊˈɡʌl, ˈməʊɡʌl /

noun

1. a member of the Muslim dynasty of Indian emperors established by Baber in 1526 See Great Mogul

2. a Muslim Indian, Mongol, or Mongolian

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Moguls or their empire

mogul ² British  

/ ˈməʊɡʌl, məʊˈɡʌl /

noun

1. an important or powerful person

2. a type of steam locomotive with a wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, six driving wheels, and no trailing wheels

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mogul ³ British  

/ ˈməʊɡəl /

noun

1. a mound of hard snow on a ski slope

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• moguled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• moguls
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mogul¹

1960–65; < dialectal German; compare Austrian dialect Mugel small hill

Origin of Mogul²

First recorded in 1580–90; from Persian mughul Mongol

Explanation

If you’re the type of person who likes to be in charge, you may have dreams of becoming a mogul — that is, a powerful businessperson. The word mogul can refer to any powerful person — a studio mogul is a bigwig in the movie business, for example. The Mogul (or Mughal) Dynasty conquered India in the 16th century, and remained in power for hundreds of years. As a result, the word mogul became synonymous with "leader" or "ruler." A mogul is also a bump in a ski slope, but that root word is German.

Example Sentences

Appeared in the June 2, 2026, print edition as 'Media Mogul, 84, Reinvents Himself Yet Again'.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026

Music Mogul AI arrives as musicians are being asked to juggle creative work with marketing, logistics and data analysis — often without the safety net of a traditional team.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2026

The Hugh and I and Mogul films were found in the house of a collector who had 150 old projectors.

From BBC • Oct. 26, 2023

One balloon, part of Project Mogul, was designed to fly high and search over long distances for weak reverberations after a nuclear test.

From New York Times • Feb. 17, 2023

“Well, okay,” said Leonard, “let’s see now. I saw the Kasi- lof, the Islander, the Mogul, the Eclipse—this was all out at Ship Channel I’m talking about—” “The Antarctic,” said Dale Middleton.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

Related Words

• executive
• magnate
• tycoon