Kazan

American  

[kuh-zan, kuh-zahn, kuh-zahn] / kəˈzæn, kəˈzɑn, kʌˈzɑn /

noun

1. Elia 1909–2003, U.S. film and stage director and novelist, born in Turkey.

2. a city in and capital of the Tatar Autonomous Republic in the SE Russian Federation in Europe, near the Volga River.

3. a river in S Nunavut, Canada, flowing N and NE to Baker Lake. 455 miles (732 km) long.

---

Kazan ¹ British  

/ -ˈzɑːn, kaˈzanj, kəˈzæn /

noun

1. a city in W Russia, capital of the Tatar Autonomous Republic on the River Volga: capital of an independent khanate in the 15th century; university (1804); a major industrial centre. Pop: 1 108 000 (2005 est)

---

Kazan ² British  

/ kəˈzɑːn /

noun

1. Elia (ˈiːljə), real name Elia Kazanjoglous 1909–2003, US stage and film director and writer, born in Turkey. His films include Gentleman's Agreement (1947) and On the Waterfront (1954) for both of which he won Oscars, and East of Eden (1955).

---

Example Sentences

Mantello opts for a 1948 draft of the script to discover what Miller may have originally intended before the play’s first director, Elia Kazan, brought his collaborative influence to bear.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

Director Elia Kazan was drawn to both playwrights because he understood that they were as interested in the stories of individual Americans as they were in the larger tale of America itself.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

"I am returning to the big ice," the skater from Kazan announced on Telegram earlier this month, her formerly brunette hair now streaked with blonde highlights.

From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026

Elsewhere, a gas storage site near Kazan was struck in a drone attack in the southwestern region of Tatarstan, local officials said, without reporting any casualties.

From BBC • Jan. 14, 2025

I want also to marry; but instead, I am taken and sent to Kazan, to be a soldier for six years.

From What Shall We Do? by Tolstoy, Leo, graf