empire buildingn.

Brit.

/ˈɛmpʌɪə ˌbɪldɪŋ/, U.S.

/ˈɛmˌpaɪ(ə)r ˌbɪldɪŋ/

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: empire n., building n.

Etymology: < empire n. + building n. Compare slightly earlier empire-building adj., empire builder n.

1. The establishing or expansion of an empire, esp. by the acquisition of additional territory.

ΚΠ

1858 N.Y. Herald 3 Aug. 4/2 But it is in the matter of empire building that we have beaten England everywhere.

1898 Daily News 12 Aug. 6/1 His exploits in the Empire-building line.

1900 Harper's Weekly 24 Mar. 278/1 Unscientific by instinct, they have been peculiarly so in the work of empire-building.

1941 W. J. Cash Mind of South iii. i. 219 There was of course change involved in all this growth and absorption in empire-building.

2003 R. MacFarlane Mountains of Mind (2004) 92 Britain's martial success, its zeal for exploration and its Empire-building: its prolific pinking of the map.

2. The establishing or expansion of a business empire or similar organization. Cf. empire n. 4.

ΚΠ

1911 Labor Digest May 24/1 About four new [railroad] stations have been opened every day during the last forty years. Is this not empire building?

1947 Financial Times 10 Mar. 2/6 Their interests extended far beyond insurance into the actual control of businesses... Legislation was passed putting an end to this ambitious empire-building.

1989 Spectator 15 Apr. 15/2 Empire-building in publishing..has as sad a history as empire-building in countries.

2011 J. G. Madrick Age of Greed xvi. 286 Weill's career was based on empire building through acquisitions, usually of existing but vulnerable institutions.

3. Within an organization: the practice of seeking to gain oneself or one's group more power, responsibility, staff, etc., typically for reasons of self-aggrandizement rather than the wider benefit. Usually depreciative.

ΚΠ

1944 Life 4 Dec. 91/1 The supply and maintenance elements of the Air Forces are among the units with far more personnel than is actually needed for efficient operations... This situation is induced in part by empire building and it too often encourages gold-bricking, or a search for rank instead of efficiency.

1955 H. Hodgkinson Doubletalk 120 Shefstvo, patronage exercised by a shef or ‘chief’ is the Soviet equivalent of ‘empire building’ in Western business and service jargon.

1962 Times 9 Nov. 13/4 One hesitates..to accuse the obstetricians of empire building.

2010 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 30 Sept. 69/3 For the Organization Department, which acts as the Party's personnel department, it was normal; it often shifts senior Party officials every few years to prevent empire building and corruption.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	empire building
释义	empire buildingn. Brit. /ˈɛmpʌɪə ˌbɪldɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈɛmˌpaɪ(ə)r ˌbɪldɪŋ/ Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: empire n., building n. Etymology: < empire n. + building n. Compare slightly earlier empire-building adj., empire builder n. 1. The establishing or expansion of an empire, esp. by the acquisition of additional territory. ΚΠ 1858 N.Y. Herald 3 Aug. 4/2 But it is in the matter of empire building that we have beaten England everywhere. 1898 Daily News 12 Aug. 6/1 His exploits in the Empire-building line. 1900 Harper's Weekly 24 Mar. 278/1 Unscientific by instinct, they have been peculiarly so in the work of empire-building. 1941 W. J. Cash Mind of South iii. i. 219 There was of course change involved in all this growth and absorption in empire-building. 2003 R. MacFarlane Mountains of Mind (2004) 92 Britain's martial success, its zeal for exploration and its Empire-building: its prolific pinking of the map. 2. The establishing or expansion of a business empire or similar organization. Cf. empire n. 4. ΚΠ 1911 Labor Digest May 24/1 About four new [railroad] stations have been opened every day during the last forty years. Is this not empire building? 1947 Financial Times 10 Mar. 2/6 Their interests extended far beyond insurance into the actual control of businesses... Legislation was passed putting an end to this ambitious empire-building. 1989 Spectator 15 Apr. 15/2 Empire-building in publishing..has as sad a history as empire-building in countries. 2011 J. G. Madrick Age of Greed xvi. 286 Weill's career was based on empire building through acquisitions, usually of existing but vulnerable institutions. 3. Within an organization: the practice of seeking to gain oneself or one's group more power, responsibility, staff, etc., typically for reasons of self-aggrandizement rather than the wider benefit. Usually depreciative. ΚΠ 1944 Life 4 Dec. 91/1 The supply and maintenance elements of the Air Forces are among the units with far more personnel than is actually needed for efficient operations... This situation is induced in part by empire building and it too often encourages gold-bricking, or a search for rank instead of efficiency. 1955 H. Hodgkinson Doubletalk 120 Shefstvo, patronage exercised by a shef or ‘chief’ is the Soviet equivalent of ‘empire building’ in Western business and service jargon. 1962 Times 9 Nov. 13/4 One hesitates..to accuse the obstetricians of empire building. 2010 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 30 Sept. 69/3 For the Organization Department, which acts as the Party's personnel department, it was normal; it often shifts senior Party officials every few years to prevent empire building and corruption. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1858
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