Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

empire

/ˈɛmˌpaɪ̯ɹ/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.54 in modern English

Syllables: em-pire
IPA: /ˈɛmˌpaɪ̯ɹ/

10

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

3

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A political state, often a monarchy, that has achieved a much greater current size than its initial size by conquering surrounding territories, cities or nations.

noun

A political unit ruled by an emperor or empress.

noun

The group of states or other territories that owe allegiance to an imperial power (foreign to them), when distinguished from the native territory of that power; imperial possessions.

noun

An expansive and powerful enterprise under the control of one person or group.

noun

control, dominion, sway.

adj

Alternative letter-case form of Empire.

adj

Following or imitating a style popular during the First French Empire (1804–1814).

adj

Following or imitating a style popular during the First French Empire (1804–1814).

Example Sentences

"the Russian empire"
"States and empires fail when they are no longer the solution, they are the problem."
"The Empire of Vietnam was a short-lived client state of Japan governing Vietnam between March 11 and August 23, 1945."
"British people [...] continued to believe in empire. It was what gave Britain a unique role in the world, and in return Britain had drawn strength from its empire to enable it to survive two great wars that had wrecked so many of its competitors. Imperial management in the twentieth[…]"
"Since Britain imported mainly foodstuffs from its empire, no preferences could be granted to the colonies without Britain first imposing a tariff on foodstuffs imported from other countries."
"the McDonald's fast food empire"

Etymology

From Middle English empire, from Old French empire, empere, from Latin imperium, inperium (“command, control, dominion, sovereignty, a dominion, empire”), from imperare, inperare (“to command, order”), from in (“in, on”) + parare (“to make ready, order”). Doublet of empery and imperium.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: empire, imperium

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈɛmˌpaɪ̯ɹ/
British English: /ˈɛm.paɪ̯ə̯/

Usage

British usage
Dated

Inflected Forms

empires (plural)

Derived Forms

antiempire empirehood interempire miniempire subempire

Phrases

Achaemenid Empire Akkadian Empire American Empire Austrian Empire Austro-Hungarian Empire Aztec Empire British Empire Byzantine Empire

Frequently Paired Words

emperor empress imperate imperation imperator imperatrix imperial imperially

Synonyms

conglomerate imperium

Rhymes With

fire higher entire prior require desire wire hire acquire retire buyer vampire

Questions

How do you pronounce empire?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɛmˌpaɪ̯ɹ/.
What does empire mean?: A political state, often a monarchy, that has achieved a much greater current size than its initial size by conquering surrounding territories, cities or nations.
Where does empire come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce empire

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “empire”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɛmˌpaɪ̯ɹ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “empire”.
Repeat and practice — Say “empire” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.