ENGLISH
REFERENCE

tycoon

n. countable
C1 Advanced US //taɪˈkun// UK //taɪkˈuːn// ty·coon

n. a person who is very successful and powerful in business. You usually use this for someone who owns a huge company and has a lot of money.

n. a person of great wealth, influence, or power in a particular industry. Often used in journalistic contexts to describe individuals with dominant market control.


SIMPLE

The media tycoon owns several newspapers and television stations.

CONTEXTUAL

After building a global shipping empire from scratch, he became the country's most famous business tycoon.

COMPLEX

The biography explores how the young entrepreneur transformed into a ruthless steel tycoon, eventually dictating the economic policies of the entire region through his industrial monopolies.

Synonyms
Origin

Borrowed from Japanese 大君(たいくん) (taikun, “great lord, prince”), a title for the shōgun. Related to taipan, from Cantonese 大班 (daai⁶ baan¹). The game sense was derived from the use of tycoon in titles of games in which one plays a tycoon (e.g., RollerCoaster Tycoon).

Usage

Often preceded by a specific industry name, such as 'property tycoon', 'media tycoon', or 'oil tycoon'.

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