samurai

American  

[sam-oo-rahy] / ˈsæm ʊˌraɪ /

noun

Japanese History.

plural

samurai

1. a member of the hereditary warrior class in feudal Japan.

2. a retainer of a daimyo.

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samurai British  

/ ˈsæmʊˌraɪ, ˈsæmjʊ- /

noun

1. the Japanese warrior caste that provided the administrative and fighting aristocracy from the 11th to the 19th centuries

2. a member of this aristocracy

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Etymology

Origin of samurai

1720–30; < Japanese, earlier samurafi to serve, equivalent to sa- prefix + morafi watchfully wait (frequentative of mor- to guard)

Explanation

Use the noun samurai when you're talking about the elite Japanese warriors who practiced martial arts in pre-industrial Japan. These days you'll only see samurai in movies about Japan, and it's easy to think of them as fictional superheroes. They really did exist, though, and played an important part in Japanese history, as members of the nobility from the tenth century all the way through the 1800s. In Japanese, the word samurai means "warrior or knight."

Example Sentences

Minamino, who has 26 goals in 73 caps for the Samurai Blue, is one of the key men in coach Hajime Moriyasu's side.

From Barron's • Dec. 22, 2025

According to the indictment, he used a variety of usernames online including Carly, Herbdoc and DeFi Samurai.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2025

The others range from custom work ordered by customers to spec vehicles that Ghattas decides to make, like the Samurai he customized with his dad, because he can.

From Seattle Times • May 25, 2024

Cinephiles already revered director Akira Kurosawa, who featured “Shōgun” co-star Toshiro Mifune in his famous Edo-era set jidaigeki films including "Rashomon," "Seven Samurai" and "Yojimbo."

From Salon • Mar. 8, 2024

I know because I painted them for her, each representing one of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, since I wanted her to still appreciate them when she’s older.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman