captain of industry

noun

1. the head of a large business firm, especially of an industrial complex.

Word History and Origins

Origin of captain of industry¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

There's laughter, sandcastle construction and everyone - whether they're a captain of industry or a truck driver - is enjoying the great embrace of the ocean.

From BBC

The situations in which the 61-year-old Emirati found himself embroiled were the type of things that would typically force the resignation of a politician or a captain of industry.

From BBC

E. L. Doctorow’s novel, set between 1902 and the twilight of the 1910s, does something similar — emphasizing the mundane next to the supposedly major, so that a captain of industry becomes a minor character compared to a young boy who understands intuitively that “the forms of life were volatile and that everything in the world could as easily be something else.”

From New York Times

On the talk page behind Musk’s Wiki page, there is also an editorial note discouraging users from changing the words “business magnate,” meaning captain of industry, to “business magnet,” a pun that Musk has joked about on Twitter.

From Slate

Some skeptically noted that buying Twitter is one way to ensure Musk’s own voice is always reaching the public, akin to a captain of industry buying a newspaper to control the editorial pages.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• boss
• capitalist
• entrepreneur
• executive
• financier
• investor
• magnate
• mogul