krai

K5R1A1I1
/kɹaɪ̯/

noun

A region or province in Russia.

UncommonScrabble 8

Meanings

nounkrai (plural krais or kraia)

plural krais · plural kraia · alternative kray

  1. administrative divisionA region or province in Russia.

    Organised similarly on a territorial basis, their tasks were formulated as follows: ‘they should know by whom party propaganda is being conducted in the corresponding oblasti and kraia,[…]’

    1996, Bohdan Harasymiw, “Republic and CC CPSU Apparatchiki”, in Soviet Communist Party Officials: A Study in Organizational Roles and Change, Commack, N.Y.: Nova Science Publishers, →ISBN, page 198
    2 more examples

    For example, in 1937 there were 11 union republics, 39 oblasti and kraia, 22 autonomous republics, 52 autonomous regions and okrugs, 3307 districts and 62,484 village soviets (Davies et al. 2003, xviii).

    2017, Roland Boer, “From Creative Naming to Cultural Revolution”, in Stalin: From Theology to the Philosophy of Socialism in Power, Singapore: Springer, →ISBN, chapter 6 (Towards a Theory of the Socialist State), section 2 (Affirmative Action), footnote 44, page 163

    The heads of the newly established kraia within the RSFSR were in a rather privileged position. Nikolai Eizmont, party secretary in what would become North Caucasus Krai, laid claim to about 15,000 square versta (17,000 square kilometers) with approximately 600,000 inhabitants in eastern Ukraine.

    2025 April 15, Stephan Rindlisbacher, “Ukraine and the RSFSR: How to Find a Common Border”, in Borders in Red: Managing Diversity in the Early Soviet Union (NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies), Ithaca, N.Y.: Northern Illinois University Press, →ISBN, pages 68–69

Origin

  1. Russianкрай
  2. Russianкрай
  3. Englishkrai

Borrowed from Russian край (kraj, “province, edge”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bengali ক্রাই
  • ক্রাই (krai)a region or province in Russia
Bulgarian край
  • край (kraj)a region or province in Russia
Chinese Mandarin 邊疆區 /边疆区
  • 邊疆區 /边疆区 (biānjiāngqū)a region or province in Russia
Czech kraj
  • kraja region or province in Russia
Finnish aluepiiri
  • aluepiiria region or province in Russia
French kraï
  • kraïa region or province in Russia
Greek κράι
  • κράι (krái)a region or province in Russia
Hindi क्राय
  • क्राय (krāy)a region or province in Russia
Hungarian határterület
  • határterületa region or province in Russia
Japanese クライ
  • クライ (kurai)a region or province in Russia
Korean 크라이
  • 크라이 (keurai)a region or province in Russia
Polish kraj
  • kraja region or province in Russia
Portuguese krai
  • kraia region or province in Russia
Romanian kraină
  • krainăa region or province in Russia
Russian край
  • край (kraj)a region or province in Russia
Slovak kraj
  • kraja region or province in Russia
Spanish krai
  • kraia region or province in Russia
Turkish kray
  • kraya region or province in Russia
Ukrainian край
  • край (kraj)a region or province in Russia

Rhymes & wordplay

Sounds the same

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

krai. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/krai

MLA

“krai.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/krai. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “krai,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/krai.

Source: krai on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.