Bolshevik
Americannoun
plural
Bolsheviks, Bolsheviki-
(in Russia)
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a member of the more radical majority of the Social Democratic Party, 1903–17, advocating immediate and forceful seizure of power by the proletariat.
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(after 1918) a member of the Russian Communist Party.
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(loosely) a member of any Communist party.
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(often lowercase) a contemptuous term used to refer to an extreme radical or revolutionary.
noun
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(formerly) a Russian Communist Compare Menshevik
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any Communist
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humorous (often not capital) any political radical, esp a revolutionary
Other Word Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
Born in 1927, a decade after the Bolshevik Revolution, his work was steeped in the traditions of classical ballet.
From BBC • May 20, 2025
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
Titled The Snow Forest, the story revolves around a Russian family who escapes early Bolshevik Russia to live in decadeslong seclusion in remote Siberia.
From Slate • Jun. 29, 2023
In October 1917 the radical Bolshevik Party took advantage of people’s anger over World War I and overthrew the Provisional Government.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
