em ‧ pire W3 /ˈempaɪə $ -paɪr/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Latin imperare ; ⇨ ↑ emperor ]
1 . a group of countries that are all controlled by one ruler or government:
the Roman empire
2 . a group of organizations controlled by one person:
a business empire
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ adjectives
▪ a large/vast/huge empire
The emperor Claudius ruled a vast empire stretching from Persia to Britain.
▪ a great empire (=large and powerful)
The city was the centre of a great empire.
▪ the Roman/British/Soviet etc empire
The Barbarians finally overthrew the Roman empire.
▪ a colonial empire (=a group of countries ruled by another country that is far away)
France had a huge colonial empire.
■ verbs
▪ found an empire (=start an empire)
The Persian empire was founded by Cyrus the Great.
▪ an empire grows
As the empire grew, its new territories needed to be protected.
▪ an empire falls/collapses (=loses power suddenly)
In A.D.476, the western part of the Empire collapsed.
▪ an empire crumbles (=loses power gradually)
The vast empire was beginning to crumble.
■ phrases
▪ the decline of an empire (=the gradual decrease in an empire's power)
The next two hundred years saw the gradual decline of the Roman empire.
▪ the fall/collapse of an empire (=the sudden end of an empire)
After the battle of Waterloo, the collapse of Napoleon's empire was inevitable.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ adjectives
▪ a business/financial/media etc empire
His business empire is now worth over $20 billion.
▪ a large/vast/huge empire
He created a vast financial empire worth billions of dollars.
■ verbs
▪ build (up) an empire
She built her clothing empire from one small shop to an international chain.
▪ run an empire (=be in charge of it)
She now runs a whole media empire.
▪ an empire collapses (=fails and ends suddenly)
When the business empire collapsed, thousands of employees lost their jobs.
■ phrases
▪ the collapse of an empire
He left the country after the collapse of his construction empire.