Definition of "apparatchik" []

• A member of a Communist apparat. (noun)
• An unquestioningly loyal subordinate, especially of a political leader or organization. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "So the term apparatchik in the Soviet world really means something very familiar."
• "The former is headed by someone called Graham Dalton, who, it seems, is a time-serving apparatchik from the DoT, which, as we all know, is headed by that limpet-like nincompoop, Geoff BuffHoon, one of new Labour's 'Jack of All Trades & Master of None'."
• "To take on a job which would normally be the preserve of an apparatchik is odd to say the least."