republic

American  

[ri-puhb-lik] / rɪˈpʌb lɪk /

noun

republics plural

1. a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.

2. any body of persons viewed as a commonwealth.

3. a state in which the head of government is not a monarch or other hereditary head of state.

4. (initial capital letter) any of the five periods of republican government in France.

5. (initial capital letter, italics) a philosophical dialogue (4th century b.c.) by Plato dealing with the composition and structure of the ideal state.

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republic British  

/ rɪˈpʌblɪk /

noun

1. a form of government in which the people or their elected representatives possess the supreme power

2. a political or national unit possessing such a form of government

3. a constitutional form in which the head of state is an elected or nominated president

4. any community or group that resembles a political republic in that its members or elements exhibit a general equality, shared interests, etc

   the republic of letters

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republic Cultural  

1. A form of government in which power is explicitly vested in the people, who in turn exercise their power through elected representatives. Today, the terms republic and democracy are virtually interchangeable, but historically the two differed. Democracy implied direct rule by the people, all of whom were equal, whereas republic implied a system of government in which the will of the people was mediated by representatives, who might be wiser and better educated than the average person. In the early American republic, for example, the requirement that voters own property and the establishment of institutions such as the Electoral College were intended to cushion the government from the direct expression of the popular will.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• semirepublic
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• republics
  plural

Etymology

Origin of republic

First recorded in 1595–1605; from French république, Middle French, from Latin rēs pūblica, equivalent to rēs “thing, entity” ( cf. rebus ( def. )) + pūblica public

Explanation

If you live in a republic, then you live in a country with a leader freely and democratically elected by the people, as opposed to a dictatorship or monarchy. Ancient Rome, before it started declining and falling all over the place, was a republic, and so is the United States. Republics have what are termed "republican" forms of government — not to be confused with Republican-with-a-big-R, as in the American political party. If you live in a "Banana Republic" you probably live in a tiny Caribbean island run by a dictator. Or you're spending too much time at the mall.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

republic republics

The lone exception to the rule is Botswana, a democratic republic that has traditionally featured the sitting president’s portrait on its 10 pula banknote denomination.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

Few individual protests have left such an imprint on the republic.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026

Lamar Alexander of Tennessee is one of those career politicians, generally respected across party lines, whose admirers think of him as that rare public servant the republic deserves as president.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

In the 1980s, Iraq's late ruler Saddam Hussein, who repressed the Shia population, went to war with the Islamic republic.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

The major argument running through the letters throughout 1813–1814 concerned their different definitions of social equality and the role of elites in leading and governing the American republic.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

The spreadsheet shows that Suozzi shared his table with four guests invited by Doug Burleigh, a longtime Fellowship leader focused on Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet republics.

From Salon ● May 29, 2026

The Druzhba Pipeline once carried Russian oil to Moscow’s Cold War-era Soviet republics and socialist satellites.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026

Most Spanish American republics had ended slavery or implemented gradual emancipation measures as early as 1811, with final abolition in place by the mid-1850s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 2026

Rich in natural resources, Central Asia's five republics have courted interest from major powers including China, the European Union and the United States since becoming independent from the Soviet Union in 1991.

From Barron's ● Nov. 25, 2025

We see from experience that only princes and republics armed with their own troops make very great progress, and that mercenaries cause nothing but damage.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli