government
[ guhv-ern-muhnt, ‐er-muhnt ]
/ ˈgʌv ərn mənt, ‐ər mənt /
Save This Word!
noun
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Origin of government
grammar notes for government
See collective noun.
how to pronounce government
Normal phonological processes are reflected in a variety of pronunciations for government. Most commonly, the first [n] /n/ of [guhv-ern-muhnt] /ˈgʌv ərn mənt/ assimilates to the immediately following [m], /m/, with the resulting identical nasal sounds coalescing to give the pronunciation [guhv-er-muhnt]. /ˈgʌv ər mənt/. This pronunciation is considered standard and occurs throughout the U.S. For speakers in regions where postvocalic [r] /r/ is regularly lost, as along the Eastern Seaboard and in the South, the resulting pronunciation is [guhv-uh-muhnt] /ˈgʌv ə mənt/ or, with loss of the medial unstressed vowel, [guhv-muhnt]. /ˈgʌv mənt/. Further assimilation, in which the labiodental [v], /v/, in anticipation of the bilabial quality of the following [m], /m/, becomes the bilabial stop [b], /b/, leads in the South Midland and Southern U.S. to the pronunciation [guhb-muhnt]. /ˈgʌb mənt/. See isn't.
OTHER WORDS FROM government
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
British Dictionary definitions for government
government
/ (ˈɡʌvənmənt, ˈɡʌvəmənt) /
noun
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
the system or form by which a community, etc, is ruledtyrannical government
- the executive policy-making body of a political unit, community, etc; ministry or administrationyesterday we got a new government
- (capital when of a specific country)the British Government
- the state and its administrationblame it on the government
- (as modifier)a government agency
regulation; direction
grammar the determination of the form of one word by another word
Derived forms of government
governmental (ˌɡʌvənˈmɛntəl, ˌɡʌvəˈmɛntəl), adjectivegovernmentally, adverbCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012