Dictionary.com
definitions

empire builder

|

noun

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

Origin of empire builder

First recorded in 1890–95
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for empire-builder

Historical Examples of empire-builder

  • He was no common man, but an empire-builder in the brave days of old.

    William Black

    John Maclean

  • He was not destined to become an Empire-builder in the Colonies.

    Oliver Goldsmith

    E. S. Lang Buckland

  • But she ought to go to a home and be trained to marry an empire-builder.

    Happy Pollyooly

    Edgar Jepson

  • He named a Canadian statesman and empire-builder whose integrity was beyond all suspicion.

    Swirling Waters

    Max Rittenberg

  • The ghost of the great Empire-builder rises before the astonished spectators, enquiring what trouble has overtaken his land.

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 Formsempire-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