democracy

American  

[dih-mok-ruh-see] / dɪˈmɒk rə si /

noun

plural

democracies

1. government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.

2. a state having such a form of government.

   The United States and Canada are democracies.

3. a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges.

4. political or social equality; democratic spirit.

5. the common people of a community as distinguished from any privileged class; the common people with respect to their political power.

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democracy British  

/ dɪˈmɒkrəsɪ /

noun

1. government by the people or their elected representatives

2. a political or social unit governed ultimately by all its members

3. the practice or spirit of social equality

4. a social condition of classlessness and equality

5. the common people, esp as a political force

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democracy Cultural  

1. A system of government in which power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through freely elected representatives.

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Usage

What is democracy? Democracy is a system of government where the citizens of a state exercise power to rule the state, either directly or through electing representatives.

Discover More

Democratic institutions, such as parliaments, may exist in a monarchy. Such constitutional monarchies as Britain, Canada, and Sweden are generally counted as democracies in practice.

Other Word Forms

• antidemocracy noun
• nondemocracy noun
• predemocracy noun
• prodemocracy adjective

Etymology

Origin of democracy

First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French démocratie, from Late Latin dēmocratia, from Greek dēmokratía “popular government,” equivalent to dēmo- demo- + -kratia -cracy

Example Sentences

Police forces are being offered specialist support from a new national democracy protection unit to deal with the rising level of threats and abuse facing MPs.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

It kills jobs, equality, connection, democracy and maybe the human race.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

There have been three major indexes that for the last decades have measured the state of democracy in the U.S. and around the world.

From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026

"This is what democracy looks like. It's kind of messy and chaotic."

From Barron's • Mar. 28, 2026

It was very hard to concentrate while my sisters were giving me a pop quiz on world democracy.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Related Words

• equality
• freedom
• justice