a group of countries ruled by a single person, government, or country

the Holy Roman Empire 神圣罗马帝国

See also: imperial (EMPIRE)

a very large and important business or organization

In the space of just ten years, her company has grown from one small retail outlet to a multi-million-dollar empire. 仅仅10年的时间，她的公司就由一个小商店发展成为一家拥有数百万英镑资产的企业集团。