Overlord
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A ruler of other rulers.
"The various tribal chieftains met each spring to elect an overlord that would lead them in time of war."
- 2 a person who has general authority over others wordnet
- 3 A feudal lord directly owed rent or personal service by a tenant of subinfeudated land, a tenant's liege lord. historical
"The tenant owed a variety of obligations to his overlord—usually including military service or serjeanty—but these were gradually converted into monetary rents."
- 4 Anyone with overarching power or authority in a given domain.
"The crusty old professor was overlord of the history department, and few dared to cross his will."
- 1 To rule over; to domineer.
"Poor Johnny one-note sang out with gusto / And just overlorded the place"
Example
More examples"The photo of Bernie Sanders sitting with legs and arms crossed comfortably has been superimposed into images from around the world – showing him with the K-pop boy band BTS; dancing with South Korean K-pop star Psy; or as overlord Wizard of Oz."
Etymology
From Middle English oferrlaferrd, orlard, our-lord, ouyr-lord, equivalent to over- + lord.
Related phrases
More for "overlord"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.