government

[ guhv-ern-muh nt, ‐er-muh nt ]

/ ˈgʌv ərn mənt, ‐ər mənt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR government ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states; direction of the affairs of a state, community, etc.; political administration: Government is necessary to the existence of civilized society.

the form or system of rule by which a state, community, etc., is governed: monarchical government; episcopal government.

the governing body of persons in a state, community, etc.; administration.

a branch or service of the supreme authority of a state or nation, taken as representing the whole: a dam built by the government.

(in some parliamentary systems, as that of the United Kingdom)

the particular group of persons forming the cabinet at any given time: The prime minister has formed a new government.
the parliament along with the cabinet: The government has fallen.

direction; control; management; rule: the government of one's conduct.

a district governed; province.

political science.

Grammar. the extablished usage that requires that one word in a sentence should cause another to be of a particular form: the government of the verb by its subject.

Nearby words

gov., govern, governador valadares, governance, governess, government, government house, government issue, government man, government national mortgage association, government of the people, by the people, and for the people

Origin of government

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Old French word governement. See govern, -ment

Related forms

gov·ern·men·tal

[guhv-ern-men-tl, ‐er-men‐] /ˌgʌv ərnˈmɛn tl, ‐ərˈmɛn‐/, adjectivegov·ern·men·tal·ly, adverbcoun·ter·gov·ern·ment, nounnon·gov·ern·ment, noun

non·gov·ern·men·tal, adjectivepro-gov·ern·ment, adjectivere·gov·ern·ment, nounsem·i·gov·ern·men·tal, adjectivesem·i·gov·ern·men·tal·ly, adverbsub·gov·ern·ment, nounun·der·gov·ern·ment, nounun·gov·ern·men·tal, adjectiveun·gov·ern·men·tal·ly, adverb

Usage note

See collective noun.

Pronunciation note

Normal phonological processes are reflected in a variety of pronunciations for government. Most commonly, the first

[n] /n/ of

[guhv-ern-muh nt] /ˈgʌv ərn mənt/ assimilates to the immediately following

[m] /m/, with the resulting identical nasal sounds coalescing to give the pronunciation

[guhv-er-muh nt] /ˈgʌv ər mənt/. This pronunciation is considered standard and occurs throughout the U.S. For speakers in regions where postvocalic

[r] /r/ is regularly lost, as along the Eastern Seaboard and in the South, the resulting pronunciation is

[guhv-uh-muh nt] /ˈgʌv ə mənt/ or, with loss of the medial unstressed vowel,

[guhv-muh nt] /ˈgʌv mənt/. Further assimilation, in which the labiodental

[v] /v/, in anticipation of the bilabial quality of the following

[m] /m/, becomes the bilabial stop

[b] /b/, leads in the South Midland and Southern U.S. to the pronunciation

[guhb-muh nt] /ˈgʌb mənt/. See isn't.

Examples from the Web for government

A few years back, designer John Galliano was fined by the government for sharing just such anti-semitic sentiments in public.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Not actual CIA agents, but U.S. government personnel who have worked very closely with the CIA, and who are fans of the show.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I think the response of the French government so far has been pretty appropriate in that regard.
Harry Shearer on The Dangerous Business of Satire|Lloyd Grove|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The United States government might not release that information for years, if ever.
Was Sony Hit With a Second Hack?|Shane Harris|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

But most likely it was linked to the way priests identify with the poor in the face of government and criminal abuses.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
No officer of the Italian government was to enter the Lateran or Vatican palaces upon any official mission.
An Introduction to the History of Western Europe|James Harvey Robinson
The attempted suppression of his trade by the Egyptian Government drove him naturally into opposition.
The River War|Winston S. Churchill
If not in the Government plan the secretary would under-take to make such a map.
Northern Nut Growers Association, Report of the Proceedings at the Fourth Annual Meeting|Various
Mrs. Morris then proceeded to give in fragmentary speeches an outline of the constitution and government of the estate.
Desperate Remedies|Thomas Hardy
The non-importation act being still in force, these goods were seized as forfeited to the Government.
The Second War with England, Vol. 1 of 2|J. T. Headley.

British Dictionary definitions for government

government

/ (ˈɡʌvənmənt, ˈɡʌvəmənt) /

noun

the exercise of political authority over the actions, affairs, etc, of a political unit, people, etc, as well as the performance of certain functions for this unit or body; the action of governing; political rule and administration

the system or form by which a community, etc, is ruledtyrannical government

the executive policy-making body of a political unit, community, etc; ministry or administrationyesterday we got a new government
(capital when of a specific country)the British Government

the state and its administrationblame it on the government
(as modifier)a government agency

regulation; direction

grammar the determination of the form of one word by another word

Derived Forms

governmental (ˌɡʌvənˈmɛntəl, ˌɡʌvəˈmɛntəl), adjectivegovernmentally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012