(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
An ~ is a number of individual nations that are all controlled by the government or ruler of one particular country.
...the Roman Empire.
N-COUNT
2.
You can refer to a group of companies controlled by one person as an ~.
...the big Mondadori publishing ~.
N-COUNT: with supp