fiefdom
Americannoun
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the estate or domain of a feudal lord.
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Informal. anything, as an organization or real estate, owned or controlled by one dominant person or group.
noun
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(in feudal Europe) the property owned by a lord
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an area over which a person or organization exerts authority or influence
Etymology
Origin of fiefdom
Vocabulary lists containing fiefdom
Medieval Europe - Middle School
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Medieval Europe - High School
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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.
Graham, for better and worse, had built up a fiefdom for himself in foreign policy, similar to the way McCain or other old Senate lions had.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
People are furious at the referee, the clumsy VAR process, and, of course, at FIFA, soccer’s governing fiefdom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Morales has been hiding out from police in his central coca-growing fiefdom of Chapare since late 2024.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
J. Edgar Hoover, who led the FBI for 48 years, had established a personal fiefdom devoted to consolidating power and pursuing his own personal obsessions, sometimes with blackmail and coercion.
From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2026
Soon after the conqueror’s death, Ptolemy, a childhood companion, advisor, and officer in long service to Alexander, solicited the fiefdom of Egypt.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
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.
