Russian roulette

proper noun

A deadly game in which a person loads a single bullet in the cylinder of a revolver, spins the cylinder so that the bullet's location is unknown, points the muzzle at their head, and pulls the trigger. In its most lethal form, played by multiple participants each of whom takes a turn until the weapon discharges.

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Meanings

proper nounRussian roulette (uncountable)

alternative rush and roulette

  1. idiomaticuncountablegamesA deadly game in which a person loads a single bullet in the cylinder of a revolver, spins the cylinder so that the bullet's location is unknown, points the muzzle at their head, and pulls the trigger. In its most lethal form, played by multiple participants each of whom takes a turn until the weapon discharges.
  2. figurativelyuncountableAny activity, especially a needless one, that carries a high risk of death or disaster.

Origin

From roulette, a game of chance involving a revolving wheel. The first description is apparently in "The Fatalist," an 1840 short story by Russian writer Mikhail Lermontov.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic رُولِيت رُوسِيّ
  • رُولِيت رُوسِيّ (rulit rūsiyy)deadly game with revolver and random spinning
Bulgarian ру́ска руле́тка
  • ру́ска руле́тка (rúska rulétka)deadly game with revolver and random spinning
Catalan ruleta russa
  • ruleta russadeadly game with revolver and random spinning
Chinese Mandarin 俄羅斯輪盤 /俄罗斯轮盘
  • 俄羅斯輪盤 /俄罗斯轮盘 (Éluósī lúnpán)deadly game with revolver and random spinning
Czech ruská ruleta
  • ruská ruletadeadly game with revolver and random spinning
Dutch Russische roulette
  • Russische roulettedeadly game with revolver and random spinning
Esperanto rusa ruleto
  • rusa ruletodeadly game with revolver and random spinning
Finnish venäläinen ruletti
  • venäläinen rulettideadly game with revolver and random spinning
French roulette russe
  • roulette russedeadly game with revolver and random spinning
German Russisch(es) Roulette
  • Russisch(es) Roulettedeadly game with revolver and random spinning
Hungarian orosz rulett
  • orosz rulettdeadly game with revolver and random spinning
Italian roulette russa
  • roulette russadeadly game with revolver and random spinning
Japanese ロシアンルーレット
  • ロシアンルーレット (Roshian-rūretto)deadly game with revolver and random spinning
Korean 러시안 룰렛
  • 러시안 룰렛 (reosian rullet)deadly game with revolver and random spinning
Lithuanian rusiška rueletė
  • rusiška rueletėdeadly game with revolver and random spinning
Norwegian Bokmål russisk rulett
  • russisk rulettdeadly game with revolver and random spinning
Persian رولت روسی
  • رولت روسی (rulet rusi)deadly game with revolver and random spinning
Polish rosyjska ruletka
  • rosyjska ruletkadeadly game with revolver and random spinning
Portuguese roleta russa
  • roleta russadeadly game with revolver and random spinning
Romanian ruleta rusească
  • ruleta ruseascădeadly game with revolver and random spinning
Russian ру́сская руле́тка
  • ру́сская руле́тка (rússkaja rulétka)deadly game with revolver and random spinning
Spanish ruleta rusa
  • ruleta rusadeadly game with revolver and random spinning
Turkish Rus ruleti
  • Rus ruletideadly game with revolver and random spinning
Ukrainian росі́йська руле́тка
  • росі́йська руле́тка (rosíjsʹka rulétka)deadly game with revolver and random spinning
Vietnamese cò quay Nga
  • cò quay Ngadeadly game with revolver and random spinning
Cite this entry
APA

Russian roulette. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Russian%20roulette

MLA

“Russian roulette.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Russian%20roulette. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Russian roulette,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Russian%20roulette.

Source: Russian roulette on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.