government

[guhv-ern-muhnt, ‑er-muhnt]

noun

1. 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.

2. the form or system of rule by which a state, community, etc., is governed.

   monarchical government; episcopal government.

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

4. a branch or service of the supreme authority of a state or nation, taken as representing the whole.

   a dam built by the government.

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

   1. the particular group of persons forming the cabinet at any given time.

      The prime minister has formed a new government.

   2. the parliament along with the cabinet.

      The government has fallen.

6. direction; control; management; rule.

   the government of one's conduct.

7. a district governed; province.

8. political science.

9. 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.

government

/ ˌɡʌvəˈmɛntəl, ˌɡʌvənˈmɛntəl, ˈɡʌvənmənt, ˈɡʌvəmənt /

noun

1. 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

2. the system or form by which a community, etc, is ruled

   tyrannical government

3. 1. the executive policy-making body of a political unit, community, etc; ministry or administration

      yesterday we got a new government

   2. ( capital when of a specific country )

      the British Government

4. 1. the state and its administration

      blame it on the government

   2. ( as modifier )

      a government agency

5. regulation; direction

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

Grammar Note

See collective noun.

Pronunciation Note

Normal phonological processes are reflected in a variety of pronunciations for government. Most commonly, the first of assimilates to the immediately following , with the resulting identical nasal sounds coalescing to give the pronunciation . This pronunciation is considered standard and occurs throughout the U.S. For speakers in regions where postvocalic is regularly lost, as along the Eastern Seaboard and in the South, the resulting pronunciation is or, with loss of the medial unstressed vowel, . Further assimilation, in which the labiodental , in anticipation of the bilabial quality of the following , becomes the bilabial stop , leads in the South Midland and Southern U.S. to the pronunciation . See isn't.

Other Word Forms

• governmental adjective
• governmentally adverb
• countergovernment noun
• nongovernment noun
• nongovernmental adjective
• pro-government adjective
• regovernment noun
• semigovernmental adjective
• semigovernmentally adverb
• subgovernment noun
• undergovernment noun
• ungovernmental adjective
• ungovernmentally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of government¹

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

Example Sentences

The Welsh Conservatives' housing spokesperson Joel James said the Welsh government "continues to miss its 20,000 affordable homes target".

Read more on BBC

Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban government have agreed to an "immediate ceasefire" after more than a week of deadly fighting.

Read more on BBC

The federal government has been shut down since the start of the month, and prediction markets are saying it could become the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

Read more on MarketWatch

The U.S. in the 2025 fiscal year gave over $200 million in foreign aid to Colombia, according to U.S. government data.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In 2013, at just this time of year, the government shut down for 17 days.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• authority 
• law 
• ministry 
• politics 
• power 
• regime 
• rule 
• state 
• union