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Synonyms

baron

1 American  
[bar-uhn] / ˈbær ən /

noun

  1. a member of the lowest grade of nobility.

  2. (in Britain)

    1. a feudal vassal holding his lands under a direct grant from the king.

    2. a direct descendant of such a vassal or his equal in the nobility.

    3. a member of the House of Lords.

  3. an important financier or industrialist, especially one with great power in a particular area.

    an oil baron.

  4. a cut of mutton or lamb comprising the two loins, or saddle, and the hind legs.

Baron 2 American  
[ba-rawn] / baˈrɔ̃ /

noun

  1. Michel Michel Boyron, 1653–1729, French actor.

baron British  
/ ˈbærən /

noun

  1. a member of a specific rank of nobility, esp the lowest rank in the British Isles

  2. (in Europe from the Middle Ages) originally any tenant-in-chief of a king or other overlord, who held land from his superior by honourable service; a land-holding nobleman

  3. a powerful businessman or financier

    a press baron

  4. English law (formerly) the title held by judges of the Court of Exchequer

  5. short for baron of beef

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of baron

1200–50; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French < Late Latin barōn- (stemof barō ) man < Germanic; sense “cut of beef ” perhaps by analogy with the fanciful analysis of sirloin as “Sir Loin”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Help came when some of his friends met Hari Khoday, the late liquor baron who was building a temple in Pandavapura.

From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026

The property baron offloaded one of his Tennessee homes back in 2021, selling the seven-bedroom, 8.5-bathroom abode, which is believed to have served as his primary residence, for $10.2 million in August of that year.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 16, 2025

“Ease” survived, but Abbe soon sold the work to railroad baron Collis Potter Huntington to help relieve his financial difficulties.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025

Designed in 1950 by architect Robert Byrd, the ranch was built for oil baron Waite Phillips and later owned by actors Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck, who hosted parties at the residence.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 16, 2025

“Your baron has pledged fifty men from this district, one from each family,” he said, and then named the family names.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.