political system

American

noun

a coordinated set of principles, laws, ideas, and procedures relating to a particular form of government, or the form of government itself.

Democracy is a political system in which citizens govern themselves.

Etymology

Origin of political system

First recorded in 1720–30

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.

Both of them viewed Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia as exemplars of an entirely new political system, unknown to previous students of political philosophy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Before the uprising that saw longtime leader Omar al-Bashir ousted in 2019, he was repeatedly arrested for songs critical of the political system.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

As Paul Waldman wrote Thursday in The Cross Section, in a halfway decent political system Simmons should be “settling into a comfortable retirement.”

From Salon • Apr. 17, 2026

Many are fed up with the one-party political system, but debate what might replace it.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2026

Reducing ways for others to interfere with the political system gave Caesar more control.

From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023