civil rights

American  

[siv-uhl rahyts] / ˈsɪv əl ˈraɪts /

plural noun

(often initial capital letters)

1. rights to personal liberty established by the 13th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and certain Congressional acts, especially as applied to an individual or a minority group.

2. the rights to full legal, social, and economic equality extended to African Americans.

---

civil rights British  

plural noun

1. the personal rights of the individual citizen, in most countries upheld by law, as in the US

2. (modifier) of, relating to, or promoting equality in social, economic, and political rights

---

civil rights Cultural  

1. A broad range of privileges and rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and subsequent amendments and laws that guarantee fundamental freedoms to all individuals. These freedoms include the rights of free expression and action (civil liberties); the right to enter into contracts, own property, and initiate lawsuits; the rights of due process and equal protection of the laws; opportunities in education and work; the freedom to live, travel, and use public facilities wherever one chooses; and the right to participate in the democratic political system.

---

Discover More

Efforts to redress the situation of inequality, such as the civil rights movement and the women's movement, have resulted in legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in affirmative action, and in the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Etymology

Origin of civil rights

First recorded in 1715–25

Example Sentences

These are folks who are like, “I come from a civil rights tradition.”

From Slate • Jun. 17, 2026

Browne-Marshall observed how the same FBI that covertly targeted Martin Luther King and other civil rights activists for subterfuge also prosecuted the KKK and investigated the death of civil rights workers.

From Salon • Jun. 16, 2026

The building features giant stone letters on the top spelling out part of a speech that Obama gave in 2015 in Selma, Alabama, the cradle of the civil rights movement.

From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026

It wasn’t as impactful as when he photographed the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago or civil rights marches in 1960s Mississippi.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026

“Emmett’s death ignited the civil rights movement as we know it, baby girl,” Dad says.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

Related Words

• freedom
• freedom of religion
• freedom of speech
• human rights