Tutsi

American

[toot-see] / ˈtut si /

noun

a member of a very tall, slender, cattle-raising people of Rwanda and Burundi.

Tutsi British

/ ˈtuːtsɪ /

noun

a member of a people of Rwanda and Burundi, probably a Nilotic people

"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

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.

The RPF was founded as a rebel group by Tutsi exiles including Paul Kagame, now president, to fight the Hutu regime behind the genocide, which it forced from power.

From BBC • May 7, 2026

For Congolese former deputy Enoch Ruberangabo, who comes from an ethnic Tutsi community in the restive east, Mobutu was a leader who "allowed community tensions to fester".

From Barron's • Nov. 13, 2025

It maintains it took up arms to protect the rights of the minority Tutsi group in DR Congo.

From BBC • Jul. 12, 2025

Prior to colonisation, part of the territory that is now DR Congo was subject to the Rwandan monarchy, which is Tutsi.

From BBC • Feb. 21, 2025

In 1959, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi monarch.

From The 1999 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023