1
a
: a native or inhabitant of Russia
b
: a member of the dominant Slavic-speaking ethnic group of Russia
c
: a person of Russian descent
2
: a Slavic language of the Russian people spoken as a second language by many non-Russian ethnic groups of the Soviet Union and its successor states
Russian
adjective
Examples of Russian in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This type of cross was once prohibited in the Russian Empire, which at various points included parts of modern-day Poland.
—
Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2024
Iran used the state media and social media accounts to express support for Hamas, vilify Israel, and denounce the United States for enabling Israel’s military response, while the Russian and, to a lesser extent, Chinese media sharply criticized the United States’ enduring support for Israel.
—Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
In late February, NASA’s TIMED spacecraft and the defunct Russian Cosmos 2221 nearly avoided crashing into one another, which would have added thousands of space junk fragments in low Earth orbit.
—Passant Rabie / Gizmodo, Quartz, 23 Apr. 2024
In the towns that sprang up around mines and factories, migrant laborers from western Ukraine, Russia and elsewhere in Moscow’s empire turned to Russian as a lingua franca, while surrounding villages continued to speak Ukrainian.
—Maria Varenikova Nicole Tung, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2024
The Russian River enriches the soil with the nutrients needed to support both wildlife and agriculture, with the prevailing fog influence being perfect for the growing of Pinot Noir.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2024
The house of worship was expropriated and given to a Russian Ministry.
—Peter Pomerantsev, TIME, 20 Apr. 2024
Play/Pause Button Play Another screen recording shows Cyber Army of Russian Reborn tampering with the control systems of a Polish wastewater treatment plant, seemingly changing settings at radom.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 17 Apr. 2024
Yellen in February offered her strongest public support yet for the idea of liquidating roughly $300 billion in frozen Russian Central Bank assets and using them for Ukraine’s long-term reconstruction.
—Fatima Hussein, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024
Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2024
Iran used the state media and social media accounts to express support for Hamas, vilify Israel, and denounce the United States for enabling Israel’s military response, while the Russian and, to a lesser extent, Chinese media sharply criticized the United States’ enduring support for Israel.
—Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
In late February, NASA’s TIMED spacecraft and the defunct Russian Cosmos 2221 nearly avoided crashing into one another, which would have added thousands of space junk fragments in low Earth orbit.
—Passant Rabie / Gizmodo, Quartz, 23 Apr. 2024
In the towns that sprang up around mines and factories, migrant laborers from western Ukraine, Russia and elsewhere in Moscow’s empire turned to Russian as a lingua franca, while surrounding villages continued to speak Ukrainian.
—Maria Varenikova Nicole Tung, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2024
The Russian River enriches the soil with the nutrients needed to support both wildlife and agriculture, with the prevailing fog influence being perfect for the growing of Pinot Noir.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2024
The house of worship was expropriated and given to a Russian Ministry.
—Peter Pomerantsev, TIME, 20 Apr. 2024
Play/Pause Button Play Another screen recording shows Cyber Army of Russian Reborn tampering with the control systems of a Polish wastewater treatment plant, seemingly changing settings at radom.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 17 Apr. 2024
Yellen in February offered her strongest public support yet for the idea of liquidating roughly $300 billion in frozen Russian Central Bank assets and using them for Ukraine’s long-term reconstruction.
—Fatima Hussein, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Russian.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near Russian
Cite this Entry
“Russian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Russian. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Russian
noun
Rus·sian
ˈrəsh-ən 
1
: a person born or living in Russia
2
: a Slavic language of the Russian people
Russian
adjective
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