democracy
Americannoun
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democracies
plural
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government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
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a state having such a form of government.
The United States and Canada are democracies.
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a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges.
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political or social equality; democratic spirit.
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the common people of a community as distinguished from any privileged class; the common people with respect to their political power.
noun
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government by the people or their elected representatives
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a political or social unit governed ultimately by all its members
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the practice or spirit of social equality
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a social condition of classlessness and equality
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the common people, esp as a political force
Usage
What is democracy? Democracy is a system of government where the citizens of a state exercise power to rule the state, either directly or through electing representatives.
Discover More
Democratic institutions, such as parliaments, may exist in a monarchy. Such constitutional monarchies as Britain, Canada, and Sweden are generally counted as democracies in practice.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of democracy
First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French démocratie, from Late Latin dēmocratia, from Greek dēmokratía “popular government,” equivalent to dēmo- demo- + -kratia -cracy
Explanation
Whether you're talking about your glee club or a powerful nation, the word democracy describes government based on participation of the people, either directly or through elected representatives. Democracy traces back to the Greek words demos, meaning "people," and kratia, meaning "power." "People power" remains central to democracy, whether you're describing a country or a much smaller organization. If your glee club is run as a democracy, then everybody gets to vote on questions like what you're going to sing and what kind of outfits you’re going to wear. Because democracy assumes some idea of equality, it's often used to mean a just society, one in which everyone is treated equally.
Vocabulary lists containing democracy
U.S. Government Lingo
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"The Hill We Climb," by Amanda Gorman
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Persepolis
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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.
See Examples For:
He added, "Polling places are the heart of our democracy and should be places of safety and peace."
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
The 1988 election was an inflection point in the country’s transition to democracy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
“It is this right that sustains and nurtures our democracy today.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Liberal democracy was a roaring economic success for most of the 20th century, at least in broad strokes and with some well-known caveats.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026
White English colonists did not create a literate, food-producing, industrial democracy in Australia.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Magyar campaigned heavily against corruption and in favor of bringing Hungary back into the fold of European Union democracies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
But it’s also a reminder of why representative democracies have to be representative.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026
"Impunity can be defeated and democracies can place limits on arbitrary power."
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
That democracies have the freedom to choose with whom to work," von der Leyen said. "
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
Even in democracies today, crucial knowledge is available to only a few individuals, who control the flow of information to the rest of the government and consequently control decisions.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
