(in the Chinese Empire) a member of any of the nine senior grades of the bureaucracy, entered by examinations a high-ranking official whose powers are extensive and thought to be outside political control a person of standing and influence, as in literary or intellectual circles a small citrus tree, Citrus nobilis, cultivated for its edible fruit the fruit of this tree, resembling the tangerine
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
man•da•rin /ˈmændərɪn/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Governmenta member of an influential class;
a government official or bureaucrat:The mandarins guessed wrong about the reaction of the people to a tax cut. - Plant Biology
- a small, spiny citrus tree of China, bearing flattish, orange-yellow loose-skinned fruit.
- this fruit, some varieties of which are called tangerines.
man•da•rin
(man′də rin),USA pronunciation n.
adj.
- World History(in the Chinese Empire) a member of any of the nine ranks of public officials, each distinguished by a particular kind of button worn on the cap.
- (cap.) the standard Chinese language.
- (cap.) a northern Chinese dialect, esp. as spoken in and around Beijing.
- Plant Biologya small, spiny citrus tree, Citrus reticulata, native to China, bearing lance-shaped leaves and flattish, orange-yellow to deep-orange loose-skinned fruit, some varieties of which are called tangerines.
- Plant Biologyany of several plants belonging to the genus Disporum or Streptopus, of the lily family, as S. roseus (rose mandarin) or D. lanuginosum (yellow mandarin,) having drooping flowers and red berries.
- Governmentan influential or powerful government official or bureaucrat.
- a member of an elite or powerful group or class, as in intellectual or cultural milieus:the mandarins of the art world.
adj.
- of or pertaining to a mandarin or mandarins.
- elegantly refined, as in language or taste.
- Hindi mantrī, Sanskrit mantrin councilor
- Portuguese mandarim, alteration (by association with mandar to order) of Malay məntəri
- 1580–90
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::