Siberia

American  

[sahy-beer-ee-uh] / saɪˈbɪər i ə /

noun

1. Russian Sibir.  an extensive region in the Russian Federation in N Asia, extending from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific.

2. any undesirable or isolated locale, job, etc., to which one is assigned as punishment, a mark of disfavor, or the like.

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Siberia British  

/ saɪˈbɪərɪə /

noun

1. a vast region of Russia and N Kazakhstan: extends from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific and from the Arctic Ocean to the borders with China and Mongolia; colonized after the building of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Area: 13 807 037 sq km (5 330 896 sq miles)

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Siberia Cultural  

1. Region of Russia stretching from north-central to northeastern Asia.

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As a consequence of Siberia's harsh conditions and its historical function as a place of punishment, to be “sent to Siberia” has become a metaphor for demotion, disgrace, or other forms of status diminution.

Known for its vast space, long and severely cold winters, and few inhabitants widely scattered in small settlements, Siberia has been for many centuries a place of political and criminal exile for Russians who anger the government's authorities.

Other Word Forms

• Siberian adjective
• trans-Siberian adjective

Example Sentences

Rosatom has the only facility in the world -- in Seversk in Siberia -- capable of carrying out key parts of the conversion of reprocessed uranium to enriched reprocessed uranium.

From Barron's

A strong east to north-easterly wind brought particularly cold air from Siberia and the Arctic leading to widespread snowfall.

From BBC

As in their previous investigations, the researchers examined Ediacaran age rocks collected from drill cores and outcrops in Oman, western India, and Siberia.

From Science Daily

In the northern hemisphere, there are two such areas, one near Canada and another over Siberia.

From Science Daily

Russian authorities say divers have recovered the bodies of seven Chinese tourists and a Russian driver who died after their mini-bus plunged under the ice to the bottom of Lake Baikal in Siberia.

From BBC

Related Words

• oblivion