Uyghur

American  

[wee-goor] / ˈwi gʊər /

(Older Spelling) Uighur,

noun

Uyghurs, plural Uyghur plural

1. a member of a predominantly Muslim Turkic-speaking people, dominant in Mongolia and eastern Turkestan from the 8th to 12th centuries a.d., and now living in northwestern China, mainly in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

2. the Turkic language of the Uyghurs.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Uyghurs or their language.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Uyghurian
  adjective
• Uyghuric
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• Uyghur
  plural
• Uyghurs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Uyghur

First recorded in 1840–45; from Uyghur; a self-designation of the Uyghur people

Example Sentences

Rubio, who has never visited China, was an outspoken critic of Beijing's human rights record while a senator, championing legislation that brought sanctions over Beijing's alleged use of forced labor from the Uyghur minority.

From Barron's • May 5, 2026

Sir Geoffrey Nice KC, chair of the Uyghur Tribunal, which is investigating atrocities against the minority group, was also sanctioned, as was Newcastle University academic Jo Smith Finley, whose research focuses on the Uyghurs.

From BBC • Jan. 30, 2026

A Chinese citizen who fled the country after gathering evidence of alleged human-rights violations against the nation’s Uyghur population is at risk of being returned there after being detained by U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025

An unverified video posted on Instagram showed around 30 people gathered on Thursday in an area of the Almaty region that has a large Uyghur population.

From Barron's • Nov. 14, 2025

She had taken a career break in late 2023 to work for the US Department of Homeland Security, helping it with the implementation of their Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act.

From BBC • Nov. 3, 2025