empire building

American  

noun

1. the plans, activities, achievements, etc., of an empire builder.

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Etymology

Origin of empire building

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Carrie Canham from Ceredigion Museum in Aberystwyth said the artefacts were the first of their kind to be found in west Wales and "highlight Ceredigion's significance in Emperor Domitian Caesar Augustus's empire building".

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026

One reason the Monroe doctrine and empire building went out of fashion was that colonies and client states wanted out.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 5, 2026

Bismarck originally believed empire building was a foolish venture that cost more than it returned.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

Shakespeare offers little room for arias, although Adams borrows from Dryden’s translations of Virgil’s “Aeneid” to give one to Caesar, who stands for the force of modernity in his empire building.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 16, 2022

Two circumstances, however, militated against this empire building: first, the fierce resistance of the heathen south made war continuous and slaves one of the articles of systematic commerce.

From The Negro by Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt)