Russian
Americanadjective
noun
-
a native or inhabitant of Russia.
-
a member of a Slavic people, the dominant ethnic group in the Russian Federation, whose historical homeland lies along the upper Volga and Oka rivers and adjacent areas.
-
the Slavic language of this people, written in the Cyrillic alphabet: the official language of Russia or the Russian Federation. Russ, Russ.
-
Informal. Russian dressing.
noun
-
the official language of Russia: an Indo-European language belonging to the East Slavonic branch
-
the official language of the former Soviet Union
-
a native or inhabitant of Russia
adjective
Other Word Forms
- anti-Russian adjective
- half-Russian adjective
- non-Russian adjective
- pro-Russian adjective
- pseudo-Russian adjective
- semi-Russian adjective
Etymology
Origin of Russian
First recorded in 1530–40; from Medieval Latin Russiānus, derivative of Russia, Latinization of Old East Slavic Rusĭ; Russ, Russia, -an
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In recent years, Khamenei also oversaw deepening ties with China and, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a pivot toward the Kremlin.
Commercial aircraft have been accidentally misidentified as hostile by air-defense systems in the past, most recently when Russian defenses mistakenly shot down an Azerbaijani commercial flight in late 2024.
Indeed, history is filled with examples of this, from the medieval Black Death hitchhiking along the Silk Road to the “Russian flu” pandemic of the late 19th century that was accelerated by trains and steamships.
From Salon
Russian casualty estimates in the now five-year war in Ukraine, more than the U.S. casualties in World War II.
From Barron's
Russian casualty estimates in the now five-year war in Ukraine, more than the U.S. casualties in World War II.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.