empire builder
noun
a person who plans or works to extend dominion or control, as over territory, political organizations, or business enterprises.
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empire-builder
empire-buildernouna person who seeks extra power for its own sake, esp by increasing the number of his subordinates or staff
empire builder
Americannoun
empire-builder
British
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of empire builder
First recorded in 1890–95
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.
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CEO and controlling shareholder Brian Roberts has been viewed as an empire builder, but that could be changing.
From Barron's ● Dec. 12, 2025
The shard of pottery in question was discovered by a passerby last December and caused a sensation as the first mention of sixth century B.C. empire builder to appear in Israel.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 3, 2023
His notion of fast-casual mirrors that of Italian empire builder Fabio Trabocchi, another discerning Washington tastemaker.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 25, 2022
He was a mighty empire builder out of an Ayn Rand novel, biding his time amid the weaklings and plotting his revenge.
From New York Times ● Jul. 24, 2013
The tireless empire builder was again on the Pacific Coast in 1858.
From The Story of Russia by R. Van Bergen
Barely two months after the paper’s owner and publisher, the L.A. empire-builder Harrison Gray Otis, had taken over the paper, he ran this florid apologia for the meager, capricious river:
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2022
And then there’s that dialectical puzzler, Steven Spielberg, the wunderkind turned empire-builder, who has long played the hero and the villain of modern Hollywood.
From New York Times ● Jul. 2, 2020
Zimbabwe began life as a colony of the British South African Company in the late 19th Century, run by the British empire-builder, Cecil Rhodes.
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2017
For centuries it was a steppingstone between Europe and the Middle East, with almost every East Mediterranean empire-builder — Persians, Romans, Venetians, Ottomans — passing through a t one time or another.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 13, 2015
He was no common man, but an empire-builder in the brave days of old.
From William Black The Apostle of Methodism in the Maritime Provinces of Canada by John Maclean
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