political science

American  

noun

1. a social science dealing with political institutions and with the principles and conduct of government.

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political science British  

noun

1. (esp as an academic subject) the study of the state, government, and politics: one of the social sciences

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political science Cultural  

1. The systematic study of government and politics. Political science is a social science that makes generalizations and analyses about political systems and political behavior and uses these results to predict future behavior. Political science includes the study of political philosophy, ethics, international relations and foreign policy, public administration, and the dynamic relations between different parts of governments.

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Other Word Forms

• political scientist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of political science

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

political science

The dress sense of female politicians, says Rob Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester, comes under much more scrutiny than that of their male counterparts.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

She attended Brandeis University, where she majored in political science and performed in musicals and cabaret.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

Dave is a Pennsylvania native who studied visual journalism and political science at Penn State University.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

As a political science scholar who studies presidential power, I believe the unitary executive theory is perhaps the most contentious and consequential constitutional theory of the past several decades.

From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2026

A study indicates that whether or not a department has a mathematics or a statistics requirement is the most important single determinant of where a woman will attend graduate school to study political science.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Related Words

• civics