emperor
Americannoun
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emperors
plural
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the male sovereign or supreme ruler of an empire.
the emperors of Rome.
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Chiefly British. a size of drawing or writing paper, 48 × 72 inches (122 × 183 centimeters).
noun
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a monarch who rules or reigns over an empire
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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
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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
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Aztec, Maya, and Inca Empires - Introductory
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"The Lotus Seed"
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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:
Many considered Winkleman, 54, to be chat show emperor Graham Norton's presumptive successor - not least because he seemed to be ushering her through himself.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
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
The imperial family now has 16 members in total, including five men -- retired emperor Akihito, 92, his brother, 90, the emperor, his brother, and Hisahito.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
“Xi received Putin like an emperor receiving his visitor in his castle,” said Joerg Wuttke, a veteran German business executive with long experience in China-Russia relations, “and sent him home.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
"How dare you take a bite of my peach!" the emperor roared.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
Japan's parliament tweaked the imperial succession law on Friday but maintained the bar on women emperors -- despite surveys suggesting wide public support for the idea.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
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
Xi accompanied Trump on a tour of Beijing’s 15th-century Temple of Heaven, where China’s Ming and Qing emperors held rites to seek bountiful harvests and other blessings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
And so those emperors who had need of extraordinary support because of their newness in power allied themselves with the soldiers rather than the people.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
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.
