empire builder

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noun

a person who plans or works to extend dominion or control, as over territory, political organizations, or business enterprises.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of empire builder

First recorded in 1890–95

Words nearby empire builder

emphatic, emphatically, emphysema, em pica, empire, empire builder, empire building, Empire Day, Empire State, Empire State Building, Empire State of the South

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use empire builder in a sentence

Risk is a classic game of strategy and world conquest, and this officially licensed 60th Anniversary Deluxe edition is the perfect gift for all the would-be empire builders in your life.
Classic board games that make great gifts|PopSci Commerce Team|September 30, 2020|Popular-Science
The ghost of the great Empire-builder rises before the astonished spectators, enquiring what trouble has overtaken his land.
Authors of Greece|T. W. Lumb
The German Emperor had proved himself a great Empire-builder, but it was not his own empire that he was building.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 152, February 14, 1917|Various
"He's missed W——'s expression entirely," said the Empire Builder.
The Personality of American Cities|Edward Hungerford

Paterson's idea was in reality that of a great empire-builder.
Spanish America, Its Romance, Reality and Future, Vol. 1|Charles Reginald Enock
Here he met Rhodes and an association began which continued until the death of the empire builder.
An African Adventure|Isaac F. Marcosson

British Dictionary definitions for empire builder

empire-builder

noun

informal a person who seeks extra power for its own sake, esp by increasing the number of his subordinates or staff

Derived forms of empire-builder

empire-building, noun, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012