a British nobleman of a rank below that of marquis and above that of viscount: called count for a time after the Norman conquest. The wife of an earl is a countess.
(in Anglo-Saxon England) a governor of one of the great divisions of England, including East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, and Wessex.
Female equivalent: countess. (in the British Isles) a nobleman ranking below a marquess and above a viscount
(in Anglo-Saxon England) a royal governor of any of the large divisions of the kingdom, such as Wessex
before 900; Middle English erl, Old English eorl; cognate with Old Saxon erl man, Old Norse jarl chieftain
An earl is a member of the British nobility. An earl is ranked above a viscount or a baron, in case you know those titles. Earl certainly carries more clout than "Mister"! One of the ceremonial titles given to noblemen in the United Kingdom is earl. Being an earl used to come with a great deal of power and control over a certain region, including the authority to pass judgment in courts of law. While it's still prestigious to be an earl, there's less actual power involved in the position. The word itself comes from the Old English word eorl, "brave man, warrior, leader, or chief."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Similarly, the earl of Peterborough's son refused both to remove his hat and to enter a plea when tried for treason in 1658.
From Science Daily ● May 7, 2026
Once, it is said, an earl stormed into Holbein’s London workshop demanding that the artist paint his portrait at once.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
Though he had - as he put it - "defended the indefensible" by arguing against the removal of hereditary peers, the earl has accepted his fate and was not "unduly distressed by it".
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
The earl is shocked to discover that the family would have neighbors and that he’d have to “go along” the hallway to bed rather than ascend the stairs as he would in a grand home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2025
Blossom was the niece and sole heir to an unmarried earl.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
Ben Earl and Freeman were both close to claiming clever kicks ahead with the tryline close at hand, with Jack van Poortvliet bringing some of the zip that was sorely absent in Johannesburg.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
One early passage with Fin Smith and Ben Earl combining well and Jack van Poortvliet finding his man with a one-handed offload round the back of tackler carved through the hosts.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Earl Decastro, 47, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, unlawfully causing fire with great bodily injury and the illegal possession of more than 100 pounds of dangerous fireworks, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
The year is 1879 and the setting is England’s Marlecombe Park, home to the 10th Earl of Alderwick.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
One of those speculators was the British governor of Virginia John Murray, the Fourth Earl of Dunmore.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
English earls were replaced with Normans, as were senior members of the Church.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Its inhabitants are those of “there will always be an England” England: stern vicars, timid curates, lords and earls, penniless titled wastrels living on allowances from their uncles, imperious aunts, upper-crust twits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2025
“The United States Constitution's ban on inherited titles met with unanimous approval because of the perceived threat posed by lords and earls to a democratic republic.”
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2018
The tradition caught on and English colleges became diploma mills for earls and barons who never cracked a book or scribbled on parchment in their storied halls.
From Washington Times ● May 9, 2018
Dukes and earls had rich rugs spread on the grass before their tents, with their shields hung up on display.
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
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.
