a provincial governor in Germany under Hitler
informal (sometimes not capital) a person in a position of petty or local authority who behaves in an overbearing authoritarian manner
1935–40; < German, equivalent to Gau region + Leiter director
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This itself was a strange commentary on the Army's and the Navy's "Gauleiter" schools at the University of Virginia and Columbia, where the teaching has been directed at post-war occupation problems.
From Time Magazine Archive
Gauleiter Franz Hofer of Tirol was brushed by the wings of victory.
From Time Magazine Archive
Arthur Seyss-Inquart, whom Hitler repaid for the betrayal of Austria with appointment as Gauleiter for The Netherlands, was seized by Canadian forces.
From Time Magazine Archive
But death was welcomed, after a fashion, by August Eigruber, once Gauleiter of Upper Austria.
From Time Magazine Archive
I am assisting a young recruit on a very important mission for Gauleiter Koch.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
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.
