EMPIRE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Empire

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/ˈɛmpaɪər/ Listen

noun

Empire n.

1.

Supreme power; sovereignty; sway; dominion. "The empire of the sea." "Over hell extend His empire, and with iron scepter rule."

2.

The dominion of an emperor; the territory or countries under the jurisdiction and dominion of an emperor (rarely of a king), usually of greater extent than a kingdom, always comprising a variety in the nationality of, or the forms of administration in, constituent and subordinate portions; as, the Austrian empire. "Empire carries with it the idea of a vast and complicated government."

3.

Any dominion; supreme control; governing influence; rule; sway; as, the empire of mind or of reason. "Under the empire of facts." "Another force which, in the Middle Ages, shared with chivalry the empire over the minds of men."

Celestial empire. See under Celestial.

Empire City, a common designation of the city of New York.

Empire State, a common designation of the State of New York.

Synonyms: Sway; dominion; rule; control; reign; sovereignty; government; kingdom; realm; state.

See images of 'Empire'

Etymology of 'Empire'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Empire" Quotes from Famous Books

... of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the close of World War I allowed the Slovaks to join the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a Communist nation within Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe. ...

— The 2008 CIA World Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency.

... in those days, when new discoveries in science were sometimes rejected as injurious to mankind, it was no common event to see a powerful sovereign courting the assistance of astronomers in promoting the commercial interests of his empire. Galileo seems to have regarded the solution of this problem as an object worthy of his ambition; and he no doubt anticipated the triumph which he would obtain over his enemies, if the Medicean stars, which they had treated with such contempt, could be ...

— The Martyrs of Science, or, The lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe, and Kepler • David Brewster

... expended in the pursuance of duty up to the sum of $60 per month; though it is said that the interpretation of this privilege to the full limit is not unlikely to cause flames of light, thunderous rumblings, and other natural phenomena in the vicinity of Empire and Culebra. But please note further; these expenditures may be only "for cab or boat hire, meals away from home, and LIQUOR and CIGARS!" Plainly the "gum-shoe" should ...

— Zone Policeman 88 - A Close Range Study of the Panama Canal and its Workers • Harry A. Franck

... it is not that either. I hate servitude; but empire would only embarrass me. I wish to gain the affections of a man who would make his happiness consist in contributing to mine, as his good sense and regard ...

— Madame Roland, Makers of History • John S. C. Abbott

... causes of anxiety which the present state of society in the British empire must occasion to every thoughtful or reflecting mind—one of the most extraordinary and alarming is, the constant and uninterrupted increase of crime. The Liberals shut their eyes to this, because it affords a sad illustration ...

— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 55, No. 343, May 1844 • Various

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