noun
ronin
noun
1
A samurai in feudal Japan who had no lord or master, often forced to survive independently.
"The film follows a band of ronin hired to protect a village."
2
In Japan, a student who has failed a university entrance exam and is studying independently to retake it.
"He spent a year as a ronin studying for his second attempt at the exam."
How to Use Ronin
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA masterless samurai, or by extension, a student retaking exams outside a formal school year.
Word Forms
ronins plural, ronin plural
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The film follows a band of _____ hired to protect a village.
Etymology
From Japanese rōnin, meaning roughly "wave person" — someone adrift without a master, like a wave with no fixed shore.