apparatchik
Americannoun
plural
apparatchiks,plural
apparatchikinoun
-
a member of a Communist apparat
-
an official or bureaucrat in any organization
Etymology
Origin of apparatchik
1940–45; < Russian apparátchik, equivalent to apparát apparat + -chik agent suffix
Vocabulary lists containing apparatchik
John McCain (1936 - 2018) Tribute List
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National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 2
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The Vocabulary of Soviet-Era Nostalgia & Cold War Spy Words
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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.
Cuba’s government is still dominated by Raúl Castro, 94 years old, the younger brother of Fidel, while President Miguel Díaz-Canel, 65, an unpopular apparatchik, runs day-to-day affairs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026
It was spearheaded by the agency’s Office of the Chief Counsel, which is currently led by an apparatchik named John Miles.
From Slate • Jul. 30, 2025
Like Ben Houchen on Teesside, Andy Street had campaigned as his own man, not a party apparatchik.
From BBC • May 4, 2024
Foreign minister since 2004, he is not considered part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, and is sometimes dismissed by Kremlin scholars as more an apparatchik and mouthpiece than a policymaker.
From Washington Post • May 19, 2022
Park said he lost his position as head of taekwondo training in Pyongyang in 2002, after squabbling with a midlevel apparatchik who apparently snitched on him to higher-ups in the government.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
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.
