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gulag

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gulag¹

  • /ˈɡuːlɑɡ/ UK
  • /-læɡ/ UK, sometimes
  • /ɡuːˈlɑk/ UK
  • /ˈɡuˌlɑɡ/ US
  • /-ˌlæɡ/ US, sometimes

Rhymes with (Received Pronunciation) -ɑːk

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Russian ГУЛА́Г (GULÁG), the acronym of Гла́вное управле́ние исправи́тельно-трудовы́х лагере́й (Glávnoje upravlénije ispravítelʹno-trudovýx lageréj, “Chief Administration of Corrective-Labor Camps”), the government agency in charge of the Soviet Union’s network of forced labour camps, which was established in 1918 and formally abolished in 1960: see GULAG.

noun gulags · Gulag · GULAG

  1. historical Also GULAG: the system of all Soviet labour camps and prisons in use, especially during the Stalinist period (1930s–1950s). One important difference between the GULAG system and the Nazi concentration camps was that a person sentenced to five years of hard labor in a Soviet labor camp could expect, assuming he or she survived, to be released at the end of the sentence.
  2. broadly A prison camp, especially one used to hold political prisoners. Nevertheless, the Trump administration has continued to insist that Abrego Garcia is a dangerous gang member in order to justify sending him to an overseas Gulag that has been accused of torturing inmates.
  3. also, broadly, figuratively A place where, or political system in which, people with dissident views are routinely oppressed.

verb gulags · gulaging · gulagging · gulaged · gulagged

  1. also, figuratively, informal, transitive To compel (someone) into a forced labour camp or a similar place of confinement or exile. Regulative censorships can be amended or revolutionized in ways that raise or lower bodycounts, numbers of books banned or citizens ghettoed or gulaged.

Gulag²

noun Gulags

  1. Alternative letter-case form of gulag

GULAG³

  • /ˈɡuːlɑɡ/ UK
  • /-læɡ/ UK, sometimes
  • /ɡuːˈlɑk/ UK
  • /ˈɡuˌlɑɡ/ US
  • /-ˌlæɡ/ US, sometimes

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Russian ГУЛА́Г (GULÁG), the acronym of Гла́вное управле́ние исправи́тельно-трудовы́х лагере́й (Glávnoje upravlénije ispravítelʹno-trudovýx lageréj, “Chief Administration of Corrective-Labor Camps”): see the definition.

proper noun

  1. historical The government agency in charge of the Soviet Union's network of forced labour camps, which was established in 1918 and formally abolished in 1960. The millions of slave-labourers at the disposal of GULAG played an important economic role, and indeed became accepted as a normal component of the Soviet economy.

noun GULAGs

  1. Alternative letter-case form of gulag One important difference between the GULAG system and the Nazi concentration camps was that a person sentenced to five years of hard labor in a Soviet labor camp could expect, assuming he or she survived, to be released at the end of the sentence.

Translations

Every language

noun system of all Soviet labour camps and prisons in use, especially during the Stalinist period (1930s–1950s)

Españolgulag
한국어굴락 gullak, 굴라크 gullakeu
日本語グラグ guragu, グラーグ gurāgu
中文古拉格 gǔlāgé
हिन्दीगूलाग gūlāg
Portuguêsgulag
Françaisgoulag
DeutschGulag, GULag
Italianogulag
Ελληνικάγκουλάγκ gkoulágk
Românăgulag
РусскийГУЛА́Г GULÁG, ГУЛа́г GULág, Гула́г Gulág, гула́г gulág
العربيةغُولَاغ ḡulāḡ, جُولَاج gulāg, مُعَسْكَر عَمْل muʕaskar ʕaml
עבריתגולאג

noun place where, or political system in which, people with dissident views are routinely oppressed

Русскийгулаг gulag, ГУЛАГ GULAG

verb to compel (someone) into a forced labour camp or a similar place of confinement or exile

Françaisgoulaguer

name government agency in charge of the Soviet Union’s network of forced labour camps

РусскийГУЛА́Г GULÁG, ГУЛа́г GULág, Гула́г Gulág

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Cite this
MLA

"gulag." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/gulag. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

gulag. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/gulag

Chicago

"gulag." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/gulag.

BibTeX
@misc{gulag_2026,
  title = {gulag},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/gulag},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}