Siberia

American  

[sahy-beer-ee-uh] / saɪˈbɪər i ə /

noun

1. Russian Sibir.  an extensive region in the Russian Federation in N Asia, extending from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific.

2. any undesirable or isolated locale, job, etc., to which one is assigned as punishment, a mark of disfavor, or the like.

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Siberia British  

/ saɪˈbɪərɪə /

noun

1. a vast region of Russia and N Kazakhstan: extends from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific and from the Arctic Ocean to the borders with China and Mongolia; colonized after the building of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Area: 13 807 037 sq km (5 330 896 sq miles)

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Siberia Cultural  

1. Region of Russia stretching from north-central to northeastern Asia.

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As a consequence of Siberia's harsh conditions and its historical function as a place of punishment, to be “sent to Siberia” has become a metaphor for demotion, disgrace, or other forms of status diminution.

Known for its vast space, long and severely cold winters, and few inhabitants widely scattered in small settlements, Siberia has been for many centuries a place of political and criminal exile for Russians who anger the government's authorities.

Other Word Forms

• Siberian adjective
• trans-Siberian adjective

Example Sentences

At Tyumen University in Siberia, some 2,000 students signed a petition against a move to make the school’s Wi-Fi accessible only through Max.

From The Wall Street Journal

"It was like being in the depths of Siberia," one local was quoted as saying.

From BBC

Known as the Power of Siberia 2, the long-discussed project raises the risk that Beijing becomes overreliant on Russia for energy.

From The Wall Street Journal

"Sweden is a very large country, but it's quite small compared to Siberia and Canada," Eckdahl said.

From Science Daily

Rosatom has the only facility in the world -- in Seversk in Siberia -- capable of carrying out key parts of the conversion of reprocessed uranium to enriched reprocessed uranium.

From Barron's

Related Words

• oblivion