Cyrillic

American  

[si-ril-ik] / sɪˈrɪl ɪk /

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to a script derived from Greek uncials and traditionally supposed to have been invented by St. Cyril, first used for the writing of Old Church Slavonic and adopted with minor modifications for the writing of Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, and some non-Slavic languages of Central Asia.

2. of or relating to St. Cyril.

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noun

1. Cyrillic script.

Cyrillic British  

/ sɪˈrɪlɪk /

adjective

1. denoting or relating to the alphabet derived from that of the Greeks, supposedly by Saint Cyril, for the writing of Slavonic languages: now used primarily for Russian, Bulgarian, and Serbian

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noun

1. this alphabet

Etymology

Origin of Cyrillic

1835–45; < New Latin Cyrillicus, equivalent to Cyrill ( us ) Saint Cyril + -icus -ic

Example Sentences

In one administrative building, old Russian logos are being replaced -- however some posters and instructions in Cyrillic script remain.

From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026

Bulgarian, like Russian, uses the Cyrillic alphabet, and a complex grammar structure.

From BBC • Oct. 20, 2025

Russian is often heard on the street and local hospitals have signs in Cyrillic script.

From New York Times • Mar. 10, 2023

One of them begins, “And now I watch another era fade, / Cyrillic letters scraped from shuttered storefronts, / tar-crusted bread, stale fish, stiff marmalade / sit sulking on the shelves, unchosen orphans.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 16, 2022

When a spectator from Moscow asked for an autograph, Bobby signed it using the Russian Cyrillic alphabet, needing to change only a few letters.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady