Meanings
KGB1
- historicalThe Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union (the Soviet security service).
But in 1967 Treholt's trenchant opposition to the Vietnam War attracted the attention of the KGB.
2019 [2018], Ben Macintyre, chapter 4, in The Spy and the Traitor, Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 751 more example
President Putin's KGB roots have sadly informed a style of governance that is neither reformist nor particularly democratic. The common thread throughout his domestic and foreign policies is his effort to trade on fear -- the fears of Russians that their country is under attack from hostile external forces (Chechens, NATO or free marketeers); and the fears of Westerners that if not for a strong, pragmatic leader, Russia will again become unruly, unstable and potentially aggressive.
2001 January 4, Garry Kasparov, “The Russian President Trades on Fear”, in The Wall Street Journal, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 09 Jan 2015, International - The security service of Belarus.
KGB2
Synonyms & antonyms
nounformerly the predominant security police organization of Soviet Russia
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- RussianКГБ
- EnglishKGB
From Russian КГБ (KGB), acronym of Комите́т госуда́рственной безопа́сности (Komitét gosudárstvennoj bezopásnosti, “State Security Committee”).
More words from Russian
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic كَي جِي بِي, كَاي جِي بِي
- كَي جِي بِي (kay jī bī)Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union
- كَاي جِي بِي (kāy jī bī)Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union
Bengali কেজিবি
- কেজিবি (kejibi)Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union
Bulgarian КГБ
- КГБ (KGB)Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union
Chinese Mandarin 克格勃, 克格勃
- 克格勃 (kègébó)Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union
- 克格勃 (Kègébó)security service of Belarus
Finnish KGB
- KGBCommittee for State Security of the Soviet Union
French KGB, KGB
- KGBCommittee for State Security of the Soviet Union
- KGBsecurity service of Belarus
German KGB
- KGBCommittee for State Security of the Soviet Union
Hebrew ק.ג.ב.
- ק.ג.ב. (ka ge be)Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union
Hindi केजीबी
- केजीबी (kejībī)Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union
Japanese カーゲーベー, ケージービー
- カーゲーベー (kāgēbē)Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union
- ケージービー (kējībī)Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union
Korean 카게베, 케이지비
- 카게베 (kagebe)Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union
- 케이지비 (keijibi)Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union
Latvian VDK
- VDKCommittee for State Security of the Soviet Union
Polish KGB, KGB
- KGBCommittee for State Security of the Soviet Union
- KGBsecurity service of Belarus
Portuguese KGB
- KGBCommittee for State Security of the Soviet Union
Russian КГБ, КГБ
- КГБ (KGB)Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union
- КГБ (KGB)security service of Belarus
Spanish KGB
- KGBCommittee for State Security of the Soviet Union
Swedish KGB
- KGBCommittee for State Security of the Soviet Union
Turkish KGB
- KGBCommittee for State Security of the Soviet Union
Ukrainian КДБ, КДБ
- КДБ (KDB)Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union
- КДБ (KDB)security service of Belarus
Yiddish קאַגעבע
- קאַגעבע (kagebe)Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union
Cite this entry
KGB. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/KGB
“KGB.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/KGB. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “KGB,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/KGB.
Source: KGB on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.