oblast
Americannoun
plural
oblasts,plural
oblasti-
(in Russia and the Soviet Union) an administrative division corresponding to an autonomous province.
-
region; province.
noun
-
an administrative division of the constituent republics of Russia
-
an administrative and territorial division in some republics of the former Soviet Union
Etymology
Origin of oblast
1885–90; < Russian óblast', Old Russian oblastĭ, equivalent to ob- against, on + vlastĭ authority, power; see volost
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Every day buses cross the regional border from Donetsk to Lozova in the Kharkiv oblast, carrying civilian evacuees.
From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026
Security Council that "28 of these attacks were in Odesa oblast alone, which is home of the vital Black Sea and Danube River terminals essential for global trade."
From Reuters • Nov. 21, 2023
What unfolded on the battlefield of Kharkiv oblast in recent days was a remarkable turning point in Ukraine’s desperate battle to resist Russia’s invasion.
From Washington Post • Sep. 12, 2022
About 40 cases of suspected collaboration are under investigation in the capital area, said Andriy Nebytov, the police chief of Kyiv oblast, or region.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 28, 2022
Much later on, he takes a look around Russia’s oblast, or province, of Birobidzhan, “nothing less than the modern world’s first Jewish homeland.”
From Washington Times • Nov. 9, 2015
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
