overlord

noun

over·​lord ˈō-vər-ˌlȯrd 

1

: a lord over other lords : a lord paramount

2

a

: an absolute or supreme ruler

b

: one having great power or authority

a corporate overlord

overlordship

ˈō-vər-ˌlȯrd-ˌship 

ˌō-vər-ˈlȯrd-

noun

Examples of overlord in a Sentence

He is the overlord of the underground gambling industry.

Recent Examples on the Web

These shadow networks outside the gaze of corporate IT overlords have become a honeypot for sensitive data and proprietary information. —Zak Doffman, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025

Kardashian, with her money and influence, holds a kind of power similar to an overlord like Musk, than a private citizen. —Aamina Inayat Khan, StyleCaster, 17 Mar. 2025

Oh, and—little detail—the earth’s surface has, apparently, been wiped clean by a world-historic climate event and a nuclear war, and everybody who survived is living in a bunker gussied up by its billionaire overlords to look like a perpetually temperate American suburb. —Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025

The film also features Kevin Bacon as corporate overlord Bob Garbinger, the head of a corrupt company. —Nick Romano, EW.com, 13 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for overlord

• checkerboard
• clavichord
• fiberboard
• fibreboard
• fingerboard
• harpsichord
• motherboard
• notochord
• overboard
• paperboard
• plasterboard
• shuffleboard

Kids Definition

overlord

noun

over·​lord ˈō-vər-ˌlȯ(ə)rd 

1

: a lord who rules over other lords

2

: an absolute or supreme ruler