czar

American  

[zahr, tsahr] / zɑr, tsɑr /

Or tsar,

noun

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

• czardom
  noun

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. )

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

His former AI czar had reportedly called Trump directly to raise objections.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

Several months ago, McDonnell quietly replaced the department’s Olympics czar, Cmdr.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

My own introduction to this came from the memoirs of President Ronald Reagan’s tax-cutting czar David Stockman.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

Actually, that comparison was made by New York infrastructure czar Robert Moses; Mr. Gittlitz fits in a venerable tradition.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Bush’s appointment as the nation’s science czar would soon give Ernest Lawrence entree to the highest councils of government.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• ruler