Nazi

American  

[naht-see, nat-] / ˈnɑt si, ˈnæt- /

noun

• Nazis
  plural

1. a member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, which controlled Germany from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler and advocated totalitarian government, territorial expansion, antisemitism, and Aryan supremacy, all these leading directly to World War II and the Holocaust.

2. (often lowercase) a person elsewhere who holds similar views.

3. (often lowercase) a person who is fanatically dedicated to or seeks to regulate a specified activity, practice, etc..

   a jazz nazi who disdains other forms of music;

   health nazis trying to ban junk food.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Nazis.

Nazi British  

/ ˈnɑːtsɪ, ˈnɑːtsɪˌɪzəm, ˈnɑːtˌsɪzəm /

noun

1. a member of the fascist National Socialist German Workers' Party, which was founded in 1919 and seized political control in Germany in 1933 under Adolf Hitler

2. derogatory anyone who thinks or acts like a Nazi, esp showing racism, brutality, etc

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adjective

1. of, characteristic of, or relating to the Nazis

Sensitive Note

Nazi in the extended sense of “a fanatical or domineering person” has existed at least since 1980 and parallels the use of the word police in the language police/the grammar police . Though this usage of Nazi is usually intended as jocular, it implies being intolerant of other people’s views and practices. And many people consider any extended use of the word Nazi to be offensive, in that it trivializes the terrible crimes of the German Nazis.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Nazism
  noun
• anti-Nazi
  adjective
• pro-Nazi
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Nazis
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Nazi

First recorded in 1930–35; from German Nazi, short for Nationalsozialist “National Socialist”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Nazi Nazis

Arendt began gathering evidence of Nazi antisemitism and was arrested in the summer of that year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Turing played a crucial role in the Allies' victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two by helping to crack codes and deciphering the infamous Enigma machine at Bletchley Park.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

Austria will formally open a new police station on Wednesday in Adolf Hitler's former house, in the hope of deterring today's ascendant far-right extremists from making the pilgrimage to the Nazi dictator's birthplace.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

“I gather that everyone here is 100% certain Graham Platner is a Nazi antisemite,” the left-wing journalist Ryan Grim wrote on Bluesky in early March.

From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026

The problem was that Hitler didn't have any Nazi saboteurs in America anymore.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

The German and Austrian symphonic and operatic music of the 1930s happens to be the root of the Hollywood soundtrack, created by composers such as Erich Korngold, who fled the Nazis.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

Spohr said the date that someone joined the Nazis can provide clues about their level of commitment.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

When he wasn’t taking on Nazis, Indy lectured in the sort of dusty, paneled classroom I learned Latin in.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

It wasn’t just the ancient Greeks and the American founders who favored classical forms; Roman emperors and the Nazis did too.

From Slate ● May 18, 2026

‘Something worse than the Nazis being in charge?’

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler