comrade
Americannoun
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an associate or companion
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a fellow member of a political party, esp a fellow Communist or socialist
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of comrade
First recorded in 1585–95; from Middle French camarade, from Spanish camarada “group of soldiers billeted together,” equivalent to cámar(a) “room” (from Latin; see camera 1) + -ada, from Latin -āta, feminine of -ātus past participle suffix ( see -ate 1)
Explanation
Your close friend or associate is your comrade. Teenagers often prefer seeing movies with a comrade or two, rather than with their parents. Comrade sometimes refers to a fellow soldier, and it is found in the phrase "comrade-in-arms." Movies about World War II comrades-in-arms often show them risking their lives to rescue each other. Comrade is also the form of address for members of the Communist party. If Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin ran into other at a party, Stalin would say, "Hello, Comrade Lenin!" The root is the Latin camera, or vaulted room, and originally comrade meant someone who shares a room.
Vocabulary lists containing comrade
Unit 1: Telling Details
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Maus I: My Father Bleeds History
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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.
“Dear Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un is the greatest person in the world,” the editorial read.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026
The party central committee "absolutely unanimously elected Comrade To Lam to continue holding the position of General Secretary", the party said in a statement.
From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026
“The remains of Comrade Li Keqiang … were cremated at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing on Thursday,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
From Washington Times • Nov. 2, 2023
President Xi Jinping delivered the eulogy in a near hour-long ceremony in the Great Hall of the People, where he "Comrade Jiang's" decisive leadership.
From BBC • Dec. 6, 2022
Khrushchev proposed that the group discuss the matter of Comrade Beria.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
