magnate

noun

mag·​nate ˈmag-ˌnāt How to pronounce magnate (audio)
-nət
Synonyms of magnate
: a person of rank, power, influence, or distinction often in a specified area
a railroad magnate

Synonyms of magnate

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of magnate in a Sentence

a studio magnate who had the biggest stars in Hollywood at his beck and call
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The company was founded by the late industrial magnate Miguel Facussé, whose daughter Pérez later married. — Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026 At some point in the last few days, Henry (Hudson Williams), the spoiled 22-year-old scion of a fish processing magnate, has disappeared from his giant mansion perched at the edge of a Canadian island. — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2026 French jewelry maison Boucheron was founded in 1858 and built a legacy of adorning royals, stars and magnates in jewelry that combines precious, rare gems with equally ingenious designs. — Tanya Dukes, Robb Report, 12 Oct. 2026 His short stint on social media wasn't the only personal detail the AI magnate offered in the interview, but one gets the sense that these days, Affleck doesn't have that much to reveal. — Roberta Mercuri, Vanity Fair, 10 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for magnate

Word History

Etymology

Middle English magnates, plural, from Late Latin, from Latin magnus

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of magnate was in the 15th century

Rhymes for magnate

See All Rhymes for magnate

Browse Nearby Words

magnanimous
magnate
magnateship
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Magnate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/magnate. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

magnate

noun
mag·​nate ˈmag-ˌnāt How to pronounce magnate (audio)
-nət
: a person of rank, power, or influence (as in an industry)
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All