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• lord
  lord

  noun

  a person who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler.
• Lord
  Lord

  noun

  a title given to God or Jesus Christ

lord

American  

[lawrd] / lɔrd /

noun

• lords
  plural

1. a person who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler.

2. a person who exercises authority from property rights; an owner of land, houses, etc.

3. a person who is a leader or has great influence in a chosen profession.

   the great lords of banking.

4. a feudal superior; the proprietor of a manor.

5. a titled nobleman or peer; a person whose ordinary appellation contains by courtesy the title Lord or some higher title.

6. Lords, the Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal comprising the House of Lords

7. Lord, (in Britain)

   1. the title of certain high officials (used with some other title, name, or the like).

      Lord Mayor of London.

   2. the formally polite title of a bishop.

      Lord Bishop of Durham.

   3. the title informally substituted for Marquis, Earl, Viscount, etc., as in the use of Lord Kitchener for Earl Kitchener.

8. Lord, the Supreme Being; God.

9. Christianity. Lord, the Savior, Jesus Christ.

10. Astrology. a planet having dominating influence.

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interjection

1. Often Lord (used in exclamatory phrases to express surprise, elation, etc.).

   Lord, what a beautiful day!

idioms

1. lord it, to assume airs of importance and authority; behave arrogantly or dictatorially; domineer.

   to lord it over the menial workers.

lord ¹ British  

/ lɔːd /

noun

1. a person who has power or authority over others, such as a monarch or master

2. a male member of the nobility, esp in Britain

3. (in medieval Europe) a feudal superior, esp the master of a manor Compare lady

4. a husband considered as head of the household (archaic except in the facetious phrase lord and master )

5. astrology a planet having a dominating influence

6. a respectful form of address used to a judge, bishop, or nobleman

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verb

1. rare (tr) to make a lord of (a person)

2. to act in a superior manner towards (esp in the phrase lord it over )

Lord ² British  

/ lɔːd /

noun

1. a title given to God or Jesus Christ

2. 1. a title given to men of high birth, specifically to an earl, marquess, baron, or viscount

   2. a courtesy title given to the younger sons of a duke or marquess

   3. the ceremonial title of certain high officials or of a bishop or archbishop

      Lord Mayor

      Lord of Appeal

      Law Lord

      Lord Bishop of Durham

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interjection

1. (sometimes not capital) an exclamation of dismay, surprise, etc

   Good Lord!

   Lord only knows!

lord More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing lord

• drunk as a lord

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• lordless
  adjective
• lordlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• lords
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lord

First recorded before 900; Middle English lord, lover(e)d, Old English hlāford, hlāfweard literally, “loaf-keeper”; see loaf ¹, ward; cf. lady ( def. )

Explanation

A lord is powerful person who's in charge, or is a ruler or master. Sometimes tigers are described as the lords of the jungle, because they're the strongest, most ferocious predators that live there. You'll most often see lord describing a man who holds authority or strong influence in a particular area, like a wealthy CEO who's known as a "lord of capitalism," or the head of a large drug-dealing enterprise who's called a "drug lord." Originally, a lord was a landowner during the feudal period in medieval Europe. Even today, a British lord holds an elite title marking him as a baron, earl, or duke.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lord Lord lords

Xenophon became in essence a mercenary lord, somewhat like the condottieri of Renaissance Italy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

But it feels like after the lord mayor's show.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

He’s been called a thief, a benefactor, a commoner, a lord, a killer and a hero.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

More recently, he appeared as a lord in “Bridgerton.”

From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026

“Your father,” said Malcolm’s mother, dishing up the apples, “thinks one of those guests used to be the lord chancellor.”

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

His sister, Susan Disney Lord, is also a client, along with her children.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Lord Braid said this case was "less straightforward" as her parents were "actively opposed" to the treatment and "disputed the medical science".

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

In his ruling, Lord Braid said clinicians had gone "above and beyond" to avoid the need for blood products and he was satisfised they would only be used as a last resort.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding,” she’d written.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

As soon as Lord Fredrick left, the Incorrigibles made a beeline back to the nursery.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

“They can. They do. … And if that’s the case, the lords of the sport are going to be mighty happy.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

When gunpowder arrived and the emerging nation-states rendered obsolete the old art of war dominated by feudal lords entrenched in their castles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026

Colombia is also trying to emerge from 50 years of fighting spawned by a complex blend of leftist rebels, paramilitaries and drug lords.

From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026

Grant Greenly added on TikTok: "All the lore, all the action, all the Elden lords, all the fights... it's more than we could ask for. This is going to be awesome."

From BBC ● May 23, 2025

‘We will come, if our own lords allow it,’ said Gimli.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien