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Definition of "fiefdom" []

  • The estate or domain of a feudal lord. (noun)
  • Something over which one dominant person or group exercises control: "long the independent head of a powerful fiefdom within the Police Department” ( David Burnham). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "fiefdom" in a sentence
  • "Mayor Daley thinks that his fiefdom is exempt from the Founding documents."
  • "Like "banana republic," the word fiefdom is not meant to be friendly, and, by the way, is quite inaccurate when applied to Connecticut towns."
  • "His fiefdom was the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit, hers the Virginia medical examiner's system."