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Tutsi

American  
[toot-see] / ˈtut si /

noun

plural

Tutsis,

plural

Tutsi

  1. a member of a very tall, slender, cattle-raising people of Rwanda and Burundi.

Tutsi British  
/ ˈtuːtsɪ /

noun

  1. a member of a people of Rwanda and Burundi, probably a Nilotic people

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

For Congolese former deputy Enoch Ruberangabo, who comes from an ethnic Tutsi community in the restive east, Mobutu was a leader who "allowed community tensions to fester".

From Barron's • Nov. 13, 2025

It maintains it took up arms to protect the rights of the minority Tutsi group in DR Congo.

From BBC • Jul. 12, 2025

But unlike Rwanda, which is headed by a Tutsi president, the majority Hutus are in power in Burundi.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2025

Prior to colonisation, part of the territory that is now DR Congo was subject to the Rwandan monarchy, which is Tutsi.

From BBC • Feb. 21, 2025

Rwanda:   In 1959, three years before independence, the majority   ethnic group, the Hutus overthrew the ruling Tutsi king.

From The 2001 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

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.