raj
noun
(in India) rule, especially the British rule prior to 1947.
raj
American
[rahj]
/ rɑdʒ /
noun
(often initial capital letter)
Raj
1
British
/ rɑːdʒ /
noun
raj
2
British
/ rɑːdʒ /
noun
Etymology
Origin of raj
1790–1800; < Hindi rāj < Pali, Prakrit rajja < Sanskrit rājya kingdom, rule
Explanation
The raj was the period in history when the British Empire ruled over a region of South Asia that includes the modern countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In Hindi, raj means "rule" or "kingdom." Britain's control over the Indian subcontinent during the 19th and 20th centuries was officially known as British India, but it was commonly referred to as "the British Raj" or simply "the Raj." The raj officially began in 1858, and it lasted through 1947 when the region was split into two sovereign states, India and Pakistan. Today the former raj consists of five independent nations.
Vocabulary lists containing raj
South Asia - Middle School and High School
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History of India - Introductory
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Chapters 27–28
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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:
The nizam juggled between his obligations to the colonial raj and to India’s rising pro-independence leaders Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
“Kudumbashree has worked because of Kerala’s strong panchayati raj system, which no other Indian state can boast of,” he said.
From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2014
When the license-permit-quota raj was dismantled in the 1990s, it was expected that corruption would diminish.
From Newsweek ● Jun. 12, 2011
Further in, it's the raj of the "Dada log".
From The Guardian ● Mar. 27, 2010
I have neither learning nor wisdom to uphold the English raj as it should be upheld.
From The Taming of the Jungle by Dr. C. W. Doyle
Having succeeded Mithali Raj as T20 captain in 2016, Harmanpreet assumed charge across all formats in 2022 and went on to guide India to some of the greatest successes in its history.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
As a city councilmember, Raj hopes to increase housing supply, particularly the supply of units that are big enough for families, and expand tenant protections like rent stabilization.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Basanta Raj Adhikari, director at the Centre for Disaster Studies at Tribhuvan University, said the Himalayas must be monitored regionally for hotspots to develop early warning systems.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Raj Chetty, John Friedman and Jonah Rockoff found that students assigned more-effective teachers were likelier to attend college and earned more as adults.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
He was married now, to a Punjabi girl, and they lived in London still, and every year they exchanged Christmas cards with Raj and Mina, each couple tucking photos of their families into the envelopes.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
