gulag
noun
gu·lag ˈgü-ˌläg 
often capitalized
: the penal system of the Soviet Union consisting of a network of labor camps
also : labor camp sense 1
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Vecna begin to vanish), and the gulag (where Hopper goes full barbarian to battle a demogorgon with just a sword) is fast, furious, and vastly more exciting than the earlier attempts at bouncing from group to group. 
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 1 July 2022 Australia outsources this work to a string of island nations sometimes described as its gulag archipelago. New York Times, 17 Apr. 2022 While this exact gulag may not have existed, the prison work depicted in the series seems to be taken from historic accounts; the USSR did use prisoner labor to construct rail lines connecting far eastern regions of the country. Josh St. Clair, Men's Health, 27 May 2022 Oh, and meanwhile, Hopper (David Harbour) is stuck in a Soviet gulag, because why not add that plot to this unpalatable stew? Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 24 May 2022 Ukrainians such as Vasyl Semenovych Stus, a poet who died in a Soviet gulag while on a hunger strike in 1985. Serhii Korolchuk, Washington Post, 23 May 2022 His father, variously identified as a teacher, journalist and poet, was purged during the Stalin era and sent to the Soviet gulag. Washington Post, 4 May 2022 Many of my relatives were forcibly deported to the Soviet gulag, never to return. Michael Bociurkiw, CNN, 9 June 2022 His grandfather spent time in a Soviet gulag for his opposition to the pro-communist Living Church movement. Grayson Quay, The Week, 29 May 2022 See More
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 1 July 2022 Australia outsources this work to a string of island nations sometimes described as its gulag archipelago. New York Times, 17 Apr. 2022 While this exact gulag may not have existed, the prison work depicted in the series seems to be taken from historic accounts; the USSR did use prisoner labor to construct rail lines connecting far eastern regions of the country. Josh St. Clair, Men's Health, 27 May 2022 Oh, and meanwhile, Hopper (David Harbour) is stuck in a Soviet gulag, because why not add that plot to this unpalatable stew? Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 24 May 2022 Ukrainians such as Vasyl Semenovych Stus, a poet who died in a Soviet gulag while on a hunger strike in 1985. Serhii Korolchuk, Washington Post, 23 May 2022 His father, variously identified as a teacher, journalist and poet, was purged during the Stalin era and sent to the Soviet gulag. Washington Post, 4 May 2022 Many of my relatives were forcibly deported to the Soviet gulag, never to return. Michael Bociurkiw, CNN, 9 June 2022 His grandfather spent time in a Soviet gulag for his opposition to the pro-communist Living Church movement. Grayson Quay, The Week, 29 May 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Russian, from Glavnoe upravlenie ispravitel'notrudovykh lagereĭ chief administration of corrective labor camps
First Known Use
1974, in the meaning defined above
gulag
noun
as in penitentiary
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- penitentiary
- prison
- jail
- stalag
- jailhouse
- stockade
- slammer
- prison camp
- brig
- lockup
- hoosegow
- bridewell
- guardroom
- calaboose
- cage
- pen
- concentration camp
- labor camp
- bastille
- pokey
- work camp
- cooler
- hock
- tank
- cell
- big house
- coop
- clink
- tolbooth
- jug
- ward
- bull pen
- guardhouse
- joint
- slam
- quod
- can
- stir
- oubliette
- dungeon
- nick
- reformatory
- glasshouse
- hole
- block
- keep
- hold
- hulk(s)
- reform school
- training school
