Word
KGB
Phoneticskgb
/ˌkeɪˌdʒiˈbi/
Definitions
01Soviet security agency
n. Stands for Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti. The secret police and intelligence agency of the former Soviet Union.
n. Abbreviation for Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti. The main security agency for the Soviet Union, responsible for internal security, intelligence, and secret police operations.
“Many spy novels from the Cold War feature agents working for the KGB.”
“Historians have spent decades analyzing declassified documents to understand the full extent of KGB operations during the mid-twentieth century.”
Archaic
Usage
Usually preceded by the definite article 'the'.
Teaching tip
While the Soviet organization no longer exists, the term remains culturally significant in history and literature; note that Belarus still uses this name for its security service.
Synonyms
02electronics testing
n. Stands for Known Good Board. A circuit board that is confirmed to work perfectly, used to test other parts.
n. Abbreviation for Known Good Board. A printed circuit board verified to be fully functional, utilized as a reference standard during the troubleshooting or repair of electronic systems.
“The technician swapped the suspected faulty part with a KGB to see if the system would start.”
“To isolate the fault in the power supply, the engineer substituted the main controller with a KGB from the inventory.”
Technical
Usage
Commonly used in hardware engineering and electronics repair contexts.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Russian КГБ (KGB), acronym of Комите́т госуда́рственной безопа́сности (Komitét gosudárstvennoj bezopásnosti, “State Security Committee”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.