fiefdom
Americannoun
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the estate or domain of a feudal lord.
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Informal. anything, as an organization or real estate, owned or controlled by one dominant person or group.
noun
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(in feudal Europe) the property owned by a lord
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an area over which a person or organization exerts authority or influence
Etymology
Origin of fiefdom
Vocabulary lists containing fiefdom
Medieval Europe - Middle School
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Medieval Europe - High School
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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.
Many accounts of the Murdaugh family’s sordid history mention that the five-county South Carolina district doubling as their fiefdom was nicknamed Murdaugh Country.
From Salon • Oct. 16, 2025
Rangel’s attorney, Tamar Arminak, said her client felt vindicated by the jury’s decision, after spending years trying to blow the whistle about a division that was essentially run as its own fiefdom.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2025
None of this would’ve been possible without Twitter’s open terrain, but in a more cloistered, more decentralized social media environment, she does worry her particular media fiefdom could face foreclosure.
From Slate • Jul. 27, 2023
That popularity is changing the reception Ice and her bicycling volunteers are getting in Bang Bon, traditionally the fiefdom of a powerful family from a rival party.
From BBC • May 7, 2023
Her struggle against Carvie Oldham’s fiefdom persisted, but progress was always measured in inches.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
