A baron is a man who is a member of the lowest rank of the nobility.
[British]
...their stepfather, Baron Michael Distemple.
2. countable noun [usually noun NOUN]
You can use baron to refer to someone who controls a large amount of a particular industry or activity and who is therefore extremely powerful.
...the battle against the drug barons.
...the British press barons.
Synonyms: tycoon, leader, chief, fat cat [slang] More Synonyms of baron
More Synonyms of baron
baron in British English
(ˈbærən)
noun
1.
a member of a specific rank of nobility, esp the lowest rank in the British Isles
2.
(in Europe from the Middle Ages) originally any tenant-in-chief of a king or other overlord, who held land from his superior by honourable service; a land-holding nobleman
3.
a powerful business owner or financier
a press baron
4. English law
(formerly) the title held by judges of the Court of Exchequer
5. short for baron of beef
Word origin
C12: from Old French, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German baro freeman, Old Norse berjask to fight
Baron in British English
Home of the Hirsel
See full dictionary entry for Home
baron in American English
(ˈbærən; ˈbɛrən)
noun
1.
in the Middle Ages, a feudal tenant of the king or of any higher-ranking lord; nobleman
2.
a member of the lowest rank of the British hereditary peerage
3.
this rank or its title
4.
a European or Japanese nobleman of like rank
5. US
a man having great or absolute power in some field of business or industry; magnate
an oil baron
6.
a large joint of meat, including the whole sirloin or both loins, with the backbone between
Word origin
ME & OFr < Frank *baro, freeman, man < IE base *bher-, to carry > bear1
Baron in American English
See De La Warr
See full dictionary entry for Delaware
Examples of 'baron' in a sentence
baron
He is said to have tried to sell it back to drug barons.
The Sun (2017)
All were jailed drug barons.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Do you think that the barons thought the king was trustworthy?
Kishlansky, Mark A. (editor) Sources of the West: Readings in Western Civilization, Volume 1: From the Beginningto 1715 (1995)
Trade union barons gave the speech rapturous applause.
The Sun (2011)
The military have targeted drug barons in a series of daring raids.
The Sun (2009)
Those are key proposals that the press barons should but have not accepted.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
And behind all this are the drug barons.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
This time a group has seized control of an airport to force the release of a drug baron.
The Sun (2014)
Fancy meeting your own oil baron?
The Sun (2012)
And trade union barons have been replaced by smoother but less virtuous barons in the boardrooms and counting houses of investment banks.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
She was being used by commercial barons for their gain, not hers.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
It has thrown itself on the mercy of old-fashioned union barons.
The Sun (2011)
In any case, the power of the press barons is being rapidly eroded by the internet.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
They borrow 30,000 from an evil drug baron to buy the film.
The Sun (2006)
For drug barons with unlimited resources, jail life is notoriously comfortable.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
They should be used against drug barons and major fraudsters - not residents behind with their council tax.
The Sun (2009)
His dining tables were as much frequented by royalty as by Texan oil barons and politicians from across the political spectrum.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Rival land barons are circling.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Pure top land baron action!
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It was widely known that the cantankerous old Canadian press baron could not bear rich people who had not earned their wealth.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Its sale in 1968 to an American oil baron is a tale of transatlantic envy.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Is the financial world becoming overly dependent on handouts from Middle East oil barons?
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The barons, not liking their new monarch much more than the last, again divide the kingdom.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Land barons are tenacious.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
In other languages
baron
British English: baron NOUN
A baron is a man who is a member of the lowest rank of the nobility.
Wealthy barons constructed extravagant houses.
American English: baron
Brazilian Portuguese: barão
Chinese: 男爵英国贵族的最低爵位
European Spanish: barón
French: baron
German: Baron
Italian: barone
Japanese: 男爵
Korean: 귀족의 최하위 계급 남작
European Portuguese: barão
Latin American Spanish: barón
All related terms of 'baron'
Baron-Cohen
Sacha. born 1970, British television and film comedian , best known for his creation of the characters Ali G and Borat
drug baron
the head of an organization that deals in illegal drugs
press baron
a person who owns a major newspaper or newspapers
robber baron
If you refer to someone as a robber baron , you mean that they have made a very large amount of money and have been prepared to act illegally or in an immoral way in order to do so.
baron of beef
a cut of beef consisting of a double sirloin joined at the backbone