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Estonian

American  
[e-stoh-nee-uhn] / ɛˈstoʊ ni ən /
Also Esthonian

adjective

  1. of or relating to Estonia or its people.


noun

  • Estonians
    plural
  1. a member of a Finnish people inhabiting Estonia, Livonia, and other districts of Russia.

  2. the Uralic language of Estonia, very closely related to Finnish.

Estonian British  
/ ɛˈstəʊnɪən, ɛˈstəʊnɪən, ɛˈsθəʊ- /

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Estonia, its people, or their language

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. the official language of Estonia: belongs to the Finno-Ugric family

  2. a native or inhabitant of Estonia

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of Estonian

First recorded in 1785–95; Estoni(a) + -an

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.

See Examples For:

Researchers analyzed stool samples and prescription records from more than 2,500 participants in the Estonian Biobank who were part of the Estonian Microbiome cohort.

From Science Daily Aug. 24, 2026

Estonian defense adviser Eva Sula works with military leaders across the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, who pepper her with questions nobody can answer.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 19, 2026

On Tuesday, Estonian officials said a Nato fighter jet had shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone.

From BBC May 20, 2026

The US Embassy in Tallinn had called the purchase "one of the most significant capability upgrades in Estonian military history."

From BBC Apr. 24, 2026

An Estonian woman noticed me drawing and gave me additional paper.

From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys

Aivar Hanniotti, an Estonian Defense League unmanned aerial systems coordinator, led an adversary unit of about 100 that included Estonians and Ukrainians.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 12, 2026

Strategically located, the town has in past centuries been ruled by the Danes, Germans, Russians, Swedes, and Estonians.

From Barron's Feb. 6, 2026

The Estonians should have pulled level again, but a Marie Kaldvee mistake ensured they still trailed at the break.

From BBC Feb. 5, 2026

So what I noticed traveling Europe — I love the Estonians, and I think we should all have enormous respect for them.

From Salon Mar. 13, 2024

“But they were expecting us. Apparently, several truckloads of Estonians were dumped in a nearby village a few days ago.”

From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys

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