meritocrat
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of meritocrat
First recorded in 1955–60; merito(cracy) + -crat
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Buttigieg seems to embody a vision of the meritocrat as influencer, giving Clinton-era ideals a contemporary, self-expressive twist.
From The New Yorker • May 2, 2019
Taylor, it’s true, is really another type of fantasy character, as heightened as Axe—they are, like him, nearly godlike in their talents: a handsome, emotionally sensitive meritocrat who upends bigotry through exceptional performance.
From The New Yorker • Mar. 25, 2019
The Silicon Valley chief executive look - chinos and casual shirt, no tie - is a way of letting your underlings know that you are a true meritocrat, and not hidebound by stuffy rules.
From BBC • Jun. 29, 2017
He is a real meritocrat in that he is trying to make the educational system see that excellence is the greatest liberator of talent, not a suppressor of the poor.
From The Guardian • May 11, 2013
Obama himself had two sides — Chicago community organizer and Ivy League meritocrat.
From New York Times • May 28, 2010
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
