comrade

American  

[kom-rad, -ruhd] / ˈkɒm ræd, -rəd /

noun

• comrades
  plural

1. a person who shares in one's activities, occupation, etc.; companion, associate, or friend.

   Synonyms:

   mate, fellow, crony

2. a fellow member of a fraternal group, political party, etc.

3. a member of the Communist Party or someone with strongly leftist views.

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comrade British  

/ ˈkɒmreɪd, -rɪd /

noun

1. an associate or companion

2. a fellow member of a political party, esp a fellow Communist or socialist

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• comradeship
  noun
• comradely
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• comrades
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

comrade comrades

Across the table was another comrade, youthful office assistant Brooklyn Crawford.

From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026

"The life of comrade Zhu Rongji was a life of revolution, a life of struggle, a life of glory," an obituary jointly issued by China's top political bodies said, according to Xinhua.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

It’s more of a comrade, understanding, empathy and having the maturity and the experience to understand what he went through as a man, as a human being.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

In 1979, the 26-year-old Xi was appointed as a personal secretary to Geng Biao, then the secretary-general of the Central Military Commission—the decision-making body for the People’s Liberation Army—and a close comrade of Xi’s father.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026

We felt the joy of a mission accomplished and the heartache of a lost comrade.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

In the end, the idleness inherent in a vacation lays bare Ashim, whom Aparna catches sight of while he is washing up outdoors and while dancing in an inebriated state with his comrades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Under the leadership of Hall and national Chairman Henry Winston, the party raised capital funds from comrades, which were then invested.

From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026

The day he died, the Jiang Zemin documentary featured Zhu explaining how he persuaded his comrades to implement tough reforms.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

“We’re all comrades in this. I feel so good to be here and help however I can. Many of us don’t have that luxury.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

Impressed finally by the massive support of his former comrades in arms, Colonel Aureliano Buendía did not put aside the possibility of pleasing them.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Related Words

• buddy
• co-worker
• colleague
• companion
• compatriot
• confidant
• crony