Meaning & use
czar
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
The male emperor who ruled Russia before 1917.
Grammar: Often capitalized before a name: Czar Nicholas II.
Patterns
- the czar of something
The czar signed the decree in the winter palace.
Peter the Great is remembered as a czar who modernized Russia.
The last czar was removed from power in 1917.
nouncountableinformalAmerican
A person given broad official power to lead policy in one particular field.
Grammar: Followed by the field: a drug czar, a housing czar.
Patterns
- the something czar
- czar of something
The mayor appointed a transit czar to fix the bus system.
The newspaper called her the new czar of cybersecurity.
A health czar was hired to coordinate the hospitals.
nouncountableinformalhumorous
Any person who holds strong, almost unchallenged control over a group or area of activity.
Grammar: Used loosely, sometimes with a mocking tone: the czar of the office kitchen.
Patterns
- the czar of something
Dad is the czar of the grill at every family picnic.
She became the czar of fashion at the magazine.
Our neighbor is the self-appointed czar of lawn care.
Word forms
| plural | czars |
|---|
Common combinations
- drug czar
- The president named a new drug czar last week.
- energy czar
- The energy czar promised lower prices by spring.
- appoint a czar
- The governor decided to appoint a czar for school safety.
- last czar
- The last czar and his family were executed in 1918.
- policy czar
- The policy czar reported directly to the president.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tsar
- Tsar is the same word with a different spelling, and it is more common in British and scholarly writing.
- emperor
- Emperor is the general word for such a ruler, while czar names the Russian title specifically.
- chief
- Chief is a plain word for a leader, but czar suggests unusually wide, concentrated power.
- tycoon
- Tycoon points to wealth and business success, whereas czar points to official authority.
Word family
- czarina noun
- the wife of a czar, or a female ruler
- czarist adjective
- relating to rule by czars
- czardom noun
- the rank or realm of a czar
- tsar noun
- alternative spelling
Commonly confused: czar or tsar?
czar vs tsar
Not a different word: tsar is just another spelling of czar, preferred in British usage.
Practice
The government hired a ____ to coordinate the whole national vaccination effort.
Choose one answer.
Czar fits here as the informal word for a person with wide authority over one field. Czarina is a czar's wife, and czardom is a realm.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “czar”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.