government

[ guhv-ern-muhnt, ‐er-muhnt ]

See synonyms for: government governmentally governmental 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.

Origin of government

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

Grammar notes for government

See collective noun.

pronunciation note For government

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

[n] /n/ of

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

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

[guhv-er-muhnt]. /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-muhnt] /ˈgʌv ə mənt/ or, with loss of the medial unstressed vowel,

[guhv-muhnt]. /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-muhnt]. /ˈgʌb mənt/. See isn't.

Other words from government

gov·ern·men·tal [guhv-ern-men-tl, ‐er-men‐], /ˌgʌv ərnˈmɛn tl, ‐ərˈmɛn‐/, adjective
gov·ern·men·tal·ly, adverb
coun·ter·gov·ern·ment, noun
non·gov·ern·ment, noun
non·gov·ern·men·tal, adjective
pro-gov·ern·ment, adjective
re·gov·ern·ment, noun
sem·i·gov·ern·men·tal, adjective
sem·i·gov·ern·men·tal·ly, adverb
sub·gov·ern·ment, noun
un·der·gov·ern·ment, noun
un·gov·ern·men·tal, adjective
un·gov·ern·men·tal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby government

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use government in a sentence

Unlike government funding, donations come with minimal accountability and no guaranteed public oversight.
Can Billionaires Really Save Us from Climate Disaster? | Heather Hansman | February 12, 2021 | Outside Online
Canopy Growth, a Canadian cannabis company, said it is accelerating its US growth strategy based on expectations of “significant reform” led by the Democratic party now that it controls two branches of government.
Canada’s largest cannabis company is turning its attention to the US | Karen Ho | February 11, 2021 | Quartz
Coastal peasants and Afromestizos farmers continued to fight for independence from the central government.
The problem of environmental racism in Mexico today is rooted in history | Jayson Porter | February 11, 2021 | Washington Post
In an economy where governments are printing money hand over fist, people want a more secure place to put their assets.
Bitcoin’s Blowing Up, and That’s Good News for Human Rights. Here’s Why | Vanessa Bates Ramirez | February 10, 2021 | Singularity Hub
The good part about it, if you would call it that, is that it is impossible to imagine how the government would be able to block a lot of this harmful speech.
Twenty-Six Words Created the Internet. What Will It Take to Save It? | Stephen Engelberg | February 9, 2021 | ProPublica

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 | THE 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 | THE 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 | THE 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 | THE 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 | THE DAILY BEAST
Dockier, a prominent leader of the Levelers, in the times of the English commonwealth, was shot by order of the government.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel Munsell
The patriarchal decree of the government was a good deal of a joke on the plains, anyway—except when you were caught defying it!
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
History gives them scant notice, and the Federal government has failed to reward them as they deserve.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. Dunn
A royal decree (December 31, 1622) orders the Dominicans in the Philippines not to meddle in affairs of government.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624 | Various
For the first time in his experience the Corsican had to meet the forces of a nation and not of a government.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison

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 ruled: tyrannical government

- the executive policy-making body of a political unit, community, etc; ministry or administration: yesterday we got a new government
- (capital when of a specific country): the British Government
- the state and its administration: blame 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 of government

governmental (ˌɡʌvənˈmɛntəl, ˌɡʌvəˈmɛntəl), adjective
governmentally, 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

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