Chukchi

noun

Chuk·​chi ˈchu̇k-ˌchē 

plural Chukchi or Chukchis

1

: a member of a Siberian people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula

2

: the language of the Chukchi people

Examples of Chukchi in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In a 2016 study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, authors investigated habitat selection by polar bears in the Chukchi Sea during a period of substantial sea-ice decline. — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 9 June 2026

The two were crew members on the tug vessel Chukchi Sea and were on board Waynehoe when other tug crew members lost contact with them. — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 19 Mar. 2026

During our time, the Beaufort Sea population was estimated at between 1,800-2,000 polar bears while the Chukchi Sea population was estimated between 3,000-5,000. — Scott Haugen, Outdoor Life, 4 Feb. 2026

From The Arctic To Mexico Gray whales begin their trek south from the icy feeding grounds of the Bering and Chukchi Seas of the Arctic Ocean, just between Russia and Alaska. — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026

Other papers that Sheffield wrote or contributed to considered a huge toxic algae bloom in the strait and in the Chukchi Sea north of it, the ongoing disappearance of sea ice, and a recent increase in maritime industrial traffic. — Ian Frazier, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026

In the northern Bering and Chukchi seas, Arctic species have declined sharply – by two-thirds and one-half, respectively – while the populations of boreal species expand. — Matthew L. Druckenmiller, The Conversation, 16 Dec. 2025

Starting in 2022, the two countries have even conducted multiple joint exercises, including in the Bering Sea, the Chukchi Sea, and the greater Arctic Ocean, as well as a joint bomber patrol near the coast of Alaska. — Elizabeth Economy, Foreign Affairs, 9 Dec. 2025

Researchers collected blood and fecal samples from 232 Chukchi Sea bears between 2008 and 2017. — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Russian chukcha (plural chukchi), probably ultimately from Chukchi čavčəv reindeer breeder

First Known Use

1780, in the meaning defined at sense 1