british empire: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples

It is commonly considered to have begun with overseas settlements in the late 16th century and effectively ended with the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, though its peak and rapid decline occurred in the mid-20th century.

The British Empire was a structure of direct or indirect political control. The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of most former British Empire territories, now independent states, focused on cooperation and shared values.

It represents a history of colonialism, which involved exploitation, cultural imposition, and violence for some, while others associate it with development, global integration, and stability. This leads to widely divergent interpretations.

It is not a standard adjective. The hyphenated form 'British-Empire' is occasionally used attributively (e.g., British-Empire era), but phrases like 'from the British Empire period' or 'imperial British' are more common.

A historical empire comprising the United Kingdom and its colonies, dominions, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It existed from the late 16th to the mid-20th century and was the largest empire in history.

British empire is usually formal, historical, academic, political in register.

British empire: in British English it is pronounced /ˌbrɪt.ɪʃ ˈem.paɪər/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌbrɪɾ.ɪʃ ˈem.paɪɚ/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.