Bolshevik

American  

[bohl-shuh-vik, bol-, buhl-shi-vyeek] / ˈboʊl ʃə vɪk, ˈbɒl-, bəl ʃɪˈvyik /

Or bolshevik

noun

plural

Bolsheviks, Bolsheviki

1. (in Russia)

   1. a member of the more radical majority of the Social Democratic Party, 1903–17, advocating immediate and forceful seizure of power by the proletariat.

   2. (after 1918) a member of the Russian Communist Party.

2. (loosely) a member of any Communist party.

3. (often lowercase) a contemptuous term used to refer to an extreme radical or revolutionary.

---

Bolshevik British  

/ ˈbɒlʃɪvɪk /

noun

1. (formerly) a Russian Communist Compare Menshevik

2. any Communist

3. humorous (often not capital) any political radical, esp a revolutionary

---

Other Word Forms

• Bolshevism
  noun
• Bolshevist
  adjective
• Bolshevistic
  adjective
• anti-Bolshevik
  noun
• non-Bolshevik
  noun
• pro-Bolshevik
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Bolshevik

1915–20; < Russian bolʾshevík, equivalent to bólʾsh ( iĭ ) larger, greater (comparative of bolʾshóĭ large; compare bolʾshinstvó majority) + -evik, variant of -ovik noun suffix; cf. Menshevik

Example Sentences

But following the Bolshevik takeover and the outbreak of civil war, the revolutionaries wanted to ensure that reactionary forces would never rescue Nicholas and Alexandra to reinstate the monarchy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

The diplomatic whirlwind that has surrounded US President Donald Trump this week suggests the old Bolshevik might have been onto something.

From BBC • May 16, 2025

Sadly, very few of the multitudes of American “advisors” in Russia since the Bolshevik demise acquainted themselves with even the most basic facts of the country whose destiny they propose to shape.

From Slate • Dec. 23, 2024

In the years after Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, many Russian Jews supported and participated in the country that became known as the Soviet Union.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2024

From the ruins, the Bolshevik Party would become the Communist Party, and Lenin would emerge as the head of a new nation with a new form of government.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein