Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to build a fiefdom

to build a fiefdom

8.9
To create a separate area of power for oneself inside an organization
  • idiom
translation icon : crear un feudo
  • Ruth used her influence to build a fiefdom that operated independently from upper management.

Examples

  • The manager spent years trying to build a fiefdom within the company.

  • She is building a fiefdom within her department.

  • It's risky to let one department head build a fiefdom unchecked.

  • He wants to build a fiefdom in the company.

  • Ruth used her influence to build a fiefdom that operated independently from upper management.

  • The manager spent years trying to build a fiefdom within the company.

  • It's risky to let one department head build a fiefdom unchecked.

Synonyms

to take control
vsto build a fiefdom
227 3.5

Start to have power and make decisions about something

establishes a lasting personal power base rather than merely starting to lead
to rule over
vsto build a fiefdom
23 4.2

To be in charge of people or a place

creates a personal separate area of power inside an organization

Antonyms

to dismantle
63 4.6

Knock down a building or other large structure completely

to disband
43 4.3

To stop being a group, for example a band or committee

How Powerful

to imperialize
  • Formal
8.8
to build a fiefdom
8.9
to hold sway
9 6.6

Surface Forms

build a fiefdom infinitive
built a fiefdom past
built a fiefdom past participle
building a fiefdom present participle
builds a fiefdom third person singular

Morphology

build + a + fiefdom

The meaning is directly derivable from 'build' (to create) plus 'fiefdom' (a domain controlled by an individual), so a learner who knows both words can infer it means to create a personal area of power or control within an organization. The phrase follows ordinary compositional logic (verb + noun) and is cross-linguistically plausible, though 'fiefdom' is somewhat register-specific, the overall sense remains transparent.

Etymology

Build a fiefdom comes from the days when a lord was given land and power to rule as his own fiefdom. To build a fiefdom meant gathering people and money that answered only to that lord. So today build a fiefdom means 'to create a personal area of power or control', for example inside a company where one person acts like a little ruler.