tycoon
Americannoun
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tycoons
plural
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a person of great wealth, influence, or power; magnate.
a business tycoon; a political tycoon.
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(often initial capital letter) a title used with reference to the shogun of Japan.
noun
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a business man of great wealth and power
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an archaic name for a shogun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tycoon
1855–60; < Japanese taikun < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese dà great + jūn prince
Explanation
If you are meeting with someone who is considered a tycoon in his industry, keep in mind that he is very successful and probably accustomed to high-stakes negotiations. Tycoon is derived from the Japanese word taikun, which means “great lord or prince.” This noun made its way to the West in the mid-19th century and originally referred to the shogun, or military leader, of Japan. It was also used in reference to Abraham Lincoln to indicate that he was an important man. Now, tycoons are generally understood to be unusually successful heads of business or industry.
Vocabulary lists containing tycoon
Outliers
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This Week In Words: August 30–September 4, 2020
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From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
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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.
See Examples For:
When a tycoon on Wall Street tells you about an exciting new invention in “financial engineering,” reach for your wallet.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets, or NYClass, the leading animal-rights organization behind the push for a ban at the time, was founded by New Jersey real-estate tycoon Stephen Nislick in 2008.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
A South Korean court ordered an AI chip-manufacturing tycoon on Friday to make a trimmed-down $644 million divorce payment to his former wife.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Crypto tycoon Justin Sun boasted of having invested $75 million with a Trump-linked crypto firm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
The next shot showed the famous real estate tycoon Heath Huxley chuckling, “Thanks for doing our digging, kids.”
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
That is being paid by billionaire Roman Karkosik, a 75-year-old who is regularly listed as one of Poland's richest tycoons.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
But the prosecution failed to provide evidence she awarded contracts to any of the oil tycoons named because of bribes.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
Lore goes that when Alec Guinness received the “Coronets” script with an offer to play four of the ill-fated tycoons, he wrote back greedily and said, “Why not eight?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026
Rival Neiman Marcus, which got its start in 1907, catered to the oil tycoons of Dallas and other parts of the South.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
I direct these observations to officers and tycoons, also.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
