apparatchik

UK: /ˌæpəˈrætʃɪk/ US: (ä′pə rä′chik; Russ. u pu rät′chyik)

Inflections of 'apparatchik' (n): npl: apparatchiks

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

ap•pa•rat•chik  (ä′pə rä′chik; Russ. u pu rät′chyik), n., pl. -chiks;
 Russ. -chi•ki (-chyi•kyē). 

1. Government a member of an apparat, esp. in a Communist country.

• Russian apparátchik, equivalent. to apparát apparat + -chik agent suffix
• 1940–45

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

apparatchik / ˌæpəˈrɑːtʃɪk/ noun

1. a member of a Communist apparat
2. an official or bureaucrat in any organization

Etymology: 20th Century from Russian, from apparat apparatus, instrument + -ckik, suffix denoting agent