noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˈsæm(j)ʊɹaɪ/
General-American:sămʹə-rī'
General-American:/ˈsæməˌɹaɪ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
South-Asia:/ˈsɑː.mʊ.ˈɾɑːj/
rhymes with (General American) -æməɹaɪ
rhymes with (Received Pronunciation) -æmʊɹaɪ
rhymes with (RP) -æmjʊɹaɪ
CMU ARPABET:S AE1 M UH0 R AY2
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:S AE1 M ER0 AY2
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
In feudal Japan, a soldier who served a daimyo.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
feudal Japanese military aristocracy
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: nobility, aristocracy
3
noun
Meaning 3
a Japanese warrior who was a member of the feudal military aristocracy
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: warrior
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 侍 (samurai).
Across languages
Translations
72 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
samoerai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Albanian:
samuraj
— feudal Japanese warrior
Arabic:
سَامُورَاي
(sāmūrāy)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Armenian:
սամուրայ
(samuray)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Azerbaijani:
samuray
— feudal Japanese warrior
Belarusian:
самура́й
(samuráj)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Bengali:
সামুরাই
(śamurai)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Bulgarian:
самура́й
(samuráj)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Burmese:
ဆာမူရိုင်း
(hcamuruing:)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Catalan:
samurai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Chinese Cantonese:
武士
(mou5 si6)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Chinese Cantonese:
日本武士
(jat6 bun2 mou5 si6)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Chinese Mandarin:
武士
(wǔshì)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Chinese Mandarin:
日本武士
(Rìběn wǔshì)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Chinese Mandarin:
侍
(shì)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Czech:
samuraj
— feudal Japanese warrior
Danish:
samurai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Dutch:
samoerai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Esperanto:
samurajo
— feudal Japanese warrior
Estonian:
samurai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Finnish:
samurai
— feudal Japanese warrior
French:
samouraï
— feudal Japanese warrior
West-Frisian:
samûrai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Georgian:
სამურაი
(samurai)
— feudal Japanese warrior
German:
Samurai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Greek:
σαμουράι
(samourái)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Hebrew:
סָמוּרַאי
(samurái)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Hindi:
समुराई
(samurāī)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Hungarian:
szamuráj
— feudal Japanese warrior
Icelandic:
samúræji
— feudal Japanese warrior
Ido:
samurai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Indonesian:
samurai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Interlingua:
samurai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Italian:
samurai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Japanese:
侍
(samurai)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Japanese:
武士
— feudal Japanese warrior
Khmer:
សាមូរ៉ៃ
(saamuuray)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Korean:
사무라이
(samurai)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Korean:
무사
(musa)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Korean:
부시
(busi)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Lao:
ຊາມູໄຣ
(sā mū rai)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Latin:
samuraeus
— feudal Japanese warrior
Latvian:
samurajs
— feudal Japanese warrior
Lithuanian:
samurajus
— feudal Japanese warrior
Macedonian:
самура́ј
(samuráj)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Malay:
samurai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Marathi:
सामुराई
(sāmurāī)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Mongolian:
самуурай
(samuuraj)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Norwegian Bokmål:
samurai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Iranian Persian:
سامورایی
(sâmurâyi)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Polish:
samuraj
— feudal Japanese warrior
Portuguese:
samurai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Romanian:
samurai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Russian:
самура́й
(samuráj)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Serbo-Croatian:
саму̀ра̄ј
— feudal Japanese warrior
Serbo-Croatian:
samùrāj
— feudal Japanese warrior
Slovak:
samuraj
— feudal Japanese warrior
Slovene:
samuraj
— feudal Japanese warrior
Spanish:
samurái
— feudal Japanese warrior
Swedish:
samuraj
— feudal Japanese warrior
Tagalog:
samuray
— feudal Japanese warrior
Tamil:
சாமுராய்
(cāmurāy)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Telugu:
సామురాయ్
(sāmurāy)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Thai:
ซามูไร
(saa-muu-rai)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Turkish:
samuray
— feudal Japanese warrior
Ukrainian:
самура́й
(samuráj)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Urdu:
سَمُرائی
(samurāī)
— feudal Japanese warrior
Vietnamese:
xamurai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Vietnamese:
samurai
— feudal Japanese warrior
Vietnamese:
võ sĩ
— feudal Japanese warrior
Vietnamese:
thị
— feudal Japanese warrior
Vietnamese:
sĩ quan Nhật
— feudal Japanese warrior