emperor
Americannoun
-
the male sovereign or supreme ruler of an empire.
the emperors of Rome.
-
Chiefly British. a size of drawing or writing paper, 48 × 72 inches (122 × 183 centimeters).
noun
-
a monarch who rules or reigns over an empire
-
Also called: emperor moth. any of several large saturniid moths with eyelike markings on each wing, esp Saturnia pavonia of Europe See also giant peacock moth
-
See purple emperor
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of emperor
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English empero(u)r, (from Anglo-French; Old French empereor, from Latin imperātor, originally, “one who gives orders, ruler,” equivalent to imperā(re) “to order, command” ( im- “in” + -perāre, combining form of parāre “to provide, get ready” ) + -tor noun suffix of agency; see im- 1, prepare, -tor
Compare meaning
How does emperor compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Forget prime ministers, presidents or even kings or queens: an emperor was the biggest, baddest ruler of them all — the leader of undisputed power who controlled a nation or, more usually, a number of subjugated nations known collectively as an empire. Nowadays the emperor is no more, replaced by humbler and usually more democratic leaders, but the notion of an all-conquering larger-than-life figure lives on in the way we give the prefix emperor to particularly magnificent specimens of living things: the Emperor Butterfly, Emperor Moth and Emperor Penguin, most famously. The Roman emperors would be proud.
Vocabulary lists containing emperor
Ancient Rome - Introductory
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Aztec, Maya, and Inca Empires - Introductory
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Lotus Seed"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Jesus was not being clever when he said in Matthew 22:21 “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
Seiichiro Murakami, a veteran of the conservative LDP, said after the bill passed the lower house on July 10 that it was "utterly outrageous" to rule out Aiko becoming emperor.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
Instead, Lawrence presented the emperor with the city’s poor and maligned, insisting that he confront the oppression he had forced on them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
The richest cache, in Kolkata's National Library, consists of 21 volumes devoted to the reign of Aurangzeb, who ruled the Mughal empire from 1658 to 1707 and was its last great expansionist emperor.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
“It would never have lit the night like the one the emperor keeps asking for.”
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
For centuries, a shimmering golden fabric known as sea silk was one of the world's most exclusive luxury materials, reserved for emperors, popes, and other powerful figures.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 12, 2026
It wasn’t just the ancient Greeks and the American founders who favored classical forms; Roman emperors and the Nazis did too.
From Slate ● May 18, 2026
Standing stiff and unsmiling next to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump appeared unmoved by the former imperial temple in Beijing where emperors once prayed for good harvests.
From Barron's ● May 14, 2026
The visit will include talks, a banquet, and a visit to the Temple of Heaven, a complex of imperial temples where emperors would pray for a good harvest.
From BBC ● May 11, 2026
To fill the gap between 660 B.C. and the earliest historically documented Japanese monarchs, the chronicles invented 13 other, equally fictitious emperors.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
