Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense, plural lords, present participle lording, past tense, past participle lorded
1. countable noun & title noun
In Britain, a lord is a man who has a high rank in the nobility, for example an earl, a viscount, ora marquis.
She married a lord and lives in this huge house in the Cotswolds.
A few days earlier he had received a telegram from Lord Lloyd.
Synonyms: peer, nobleman, count, duke More Synonyms of lord
2. countable noun
In Britain, judges, bishops, and some male members of the nobility are addressed as 'my Lord'.
[politeness]
My lord, I am instructed by my client to claim that the evidence has been tamperedwith.
3.
In Britain, Lord is used in the titles of some officials of very high rank.
He was Lord Chancellor from 1970 until 1974.
...the head of the judiciary, the Lord Chief Justice.
4. proper noun [with singular or plural verb]
The Lords is the same as the House of Lords.
It's very likely the bill will be defeated in the Lords.
5. countable noun
In former times, especially in medieval times, a lord was a man who owned land or property and who had power and authority over people.
It was the home of the powerful lords of Baux.
Synonyms: ruler, leader, chief, king More Synonyms of lord
6. proper noun
In the Christian church, people refer to God and to Jesus Christ as the Lord.
I know the Lord will look after him.
She prayed now. 'Lord, help me to find courage.'
...the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
7. See also Our Lord
8. countable noun [usually with supplement, usually NOUNof noun]
If you describe a man as the lordof a particular area, industry, or thing, you mean that he has total authority and power over it.
A century ago the aristocracy were truly lords of the earth.
...the lords of the black market.
Synonyms: ruler, chief, baron, tycoon More Synonyms of lord
9.
See good lord
10.
See lord knows
11.
See lord knows
12.
See lord it over sb
lord in British English
(lɔːd)
noun
1.
a person who has power or authority over others, such as a monarch or master
2.
a male member of the nobility, esp in Britain
3.
(in medieval Europe) a feudal superior, esp the master of a manor
Compare lady (sense 5)
4.
a husband considered as head of the household (archaic except in the facetious phrase lord and master)
5. astrology
a planet having a dominating influence
6. my lord
verb
7. (transitive) rare
to make a lord of (a person)
8.
to act in a superior manner towards (esp in the phrase lord it over)
Derived forms
lordless (ˈlordless)
adjective
lordlike (ˈlordˌlike)
adjective
Word origin
Old English hlāford bread keeper; see loaf1, ward
Lord in British English
(lɔːd)
noun
1.
a title given to God or Jesus Christ
2. British
a.
a title given to men of high birth, specifically to an earl, marquess, baron, or viscount
b.
a courtesy title given to the younger sons of a duke or marquess
c.
the ceremonial title of certain high officials or of a bishop or archbishop
Lord Mayor
Lord of Appeal
Law Lord
Lord Bishop of Durham
exclamation
3. (sometimes not capital)
an exclamation of dismay, surprise, etc
Good Lord!
Lord only knows!
lord in American English
(lɔrd)
noun
1.
a person having great power and authority; ruler; master
2.
the owner and head of a feudal estate
3.
one's husband
now humorous
4. [L-]
a.
God
with the except in direct address
b.
Jesus Christ
often with Our
5.
in Great Britain
a.
a nobleman holding the rank of baron, viscount, earl, or marquess; member of the House of Lords
b.
a man who by courtesy or because of his office is given the title of Lord, as a bishop,a younger son of a duke or marquess, or a Lord Mayor
6. [L-]
in Great Britain, the title of a lord, variously used
, as Earl of Leicester, John Doe would be called Lord Leicester; as a baron, John, Lord Doe; as a younger son of a marquess or duke, Lord John Doe
7. [L-]
this title as a form of address for a judge, bishop, or nobleman
, preceded by My
interjection
8. [oftenL-]
used to express surprise or irritation
verb intransitive
9.
to act like a lord; rule
chiefly in the phrase lord it (over), to act in an overbearing, dictatorial manner (toward)
verb transitive
10. Rare
to make a lord of
Idioms:
the Lords
Word origin
ME < OE hlaford < earlier hlafweard < hlaf (see loaf1) + weard (see ward): basic sense—“loaf keeper” (i.e., one who feeds dependents): some senses infl. byuse as transl. of L dominus
Examples of 'lord' in a sentence
lord
What did the lord mayor do about it?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It will force phone providers to cut off mobiles where they are proved to be used by drug lords.
The Sun (2017)
Highly respected, he was tipped at one point to become lord chief justice.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
The two other witnesses interviewed are a former senior council official and a former lord mayor of Leicester.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
She denies claims that she was in the pocket of drug lords, but these days an accusation can be a death sentence.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
As local drug lords have watched the wall get higher, stronger and more heavily guarded they have simply dug down under it.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Recent lord mayors have been drawn from the financial services industry and included investment bankers, lawyers and stockbrokers approaching the end of their careers.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The roving knight has found that being a lord of lands has its disadvantages?
Kathleen E. Woodiwiss THE WOLF AND THE DOVE
The right of the feudal lord was also the law.
Low, Nicholas Politics, Planning and the State (1990)
The undamaged treasures may have been ready to use for trading between drug lords.
The Sun (2011)
This time they are on the trail of a sinister crime lord.
The Sun (2009)
They should also find legal replacements for the law lords whose revising expertise has been missed.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The feudal lord was told to restore the earlier tax arrangements.
The Times Literary Supplement (2014)
There's greenhouse to potter in to reinforce the lord of the manor lifestyle.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
He was knighted in 2004 after his year in office as lord mayor.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It's playing lord of the manor.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Downing Street has asked the lord chief justice to recommend a judge to lead the inquiry.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
In practice, they have allowed one group of people to lord it over another group ofpeople.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Two wannabe boxers get mixed up with the Mob when they make a delivery to a crime lord.
The Sun (2009)
The former law lord is visiting Qatar and talks to set up the panel will continue when he returns.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
This loyal servant fulfilled his lord and master 's final wishes by burying him in his belly instead of the earth.
Max Hastings Nemesis: The Battle for Japan, 194445 (2007)
We have the hope of eternal life that comes because we release ownership of our bodies and don't make ourselves lords of ourselves.
Christianity Today (2000)
The links between powerful drug lords, the government and the insurgents remain strong, according to local officials.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Officials say that 65 per cent of the country's jails are controlled by drug lords rather than prison officers.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Quite what the adjudicator is going to add to that, lord only knows, apart from justifying its own existence.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
This time the fuse has been lit not by an elected politician but by the man who until recently was Britain's most powerful law lord.
The Sun (2013)
The popes did not always appoint the bishops, for monarchs and local lords often claimed this right, but they didsend directives and received information.
Stearns, Peter N. World History: Patterns of Change and Continuity (1995)
In other languages
lord
British English: lord NOUN
In Britain, a lord is a man who has a high rank in the nobility, for example an earl, a viscount, or a marquis.
She married a lord and lives in this huge house in the countryside.
American English: lord
Brazilian Portuguese: senhor
Chinese: 贵族
European Spanish: señor
French: seigneur
German: Lord
Italian: lord
Japanese: 貴族
Korean: 귀족
European Portuguese: senhor
Latin American Spanish: lord
Definition of 'lord'
Chinese translation of 'lord'
lord
(lɔːd) (Brit)
n(c)
(= peer) 贵(貴)族 (guìzú) (位, wèi)
Lord Smith史密斯阁(閣)下 (Shǐmìsī géxià)
the Lord (Rel) 上帝 (Shàngdì)
my lord (Brit, to bishop, noble) 大人 (dàren) (to judge) 阁(閣)下 (géxià)