Bolshevik

Bol·she·vik

noun \ˈbōl-shə-ˌvik, ˈbȯl-, ˈbäl-, -ˌvēk\

plural Bolsheviks also Bol·she·vi·ki \ˌbōl-shə-ˈvi-kē, ˌbȯl-, ˌbäl-, -ˈvē-kē\

Definition of BOLSHEVIK

1

: a member of the extremist wing of the Russian Social Democratic party that seized power in Russia by the Revolution of November 1917

2

: communist 3

— Bolshevik adjective

Origin of BOLSHEVIK

Russian bol'shevik, from bol'shiĭ greater

First Known Use: 1917

Rhymes with BOLSHEVIK

Battle Creek, biunique, Boundary Peak, Chesapeake, control freak, dominique, doublespeak, fenugreek, Granite Peak, hide-and-seek, Holy Week, Martinique, Menshevik, Middle Greek, Modern Greek, Mozambique, Passion Week, tongue-in-cheek, up the creek, verd antique, widow's peak

Bolshevik

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

(Russian: “member of the majority”) Member of the wing of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party led by Vladimir Ilich Lenin that seized control in the Russian Revolution of 1917. The group arose in 1903 when Lenin's followers insisted that party membership be restricted to professional or full-time revolutionaries. Though they joined with their rivals, the Mensheviks (“members of the minority”), in the Russian Revolution of 1905, the two groups later split, and in 1912 Lenin formed his own party. Its appeal grew among urban workers and soldiers during World War I. See also Communist Party, Leninism.