regime

American  

[ruh-zheem, rey-, -jeem] / rəˈʒim, reɪ-, -ˈdʒim /

Or régime

noun

regimes plural

1. a mode or system of rule or government.

   a dictatorial regime.

2. a ruling or prevailing system.

3. a government in power.

4. the period during which a particular government or ruling system is in power.

5. Medicine/Medical. regimen.

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regime British  

/ reɪˈʒiːm /

noun

1. a system of government or a particular administration

   a fascist regime

   the regime of Fidel Castro

2. a social system or order

3. med another word for regimen

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regime Cultural  

1. An administration, or a system of managing government.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• regimes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of regime

First recorded in 1770–80; from French régime, from Latin regimen regimen

Explanation

A regime is the ruling government of a country. The amount of freedom and restriction that citizens of a country have can change from regime to regime. Regime takes its militaristic and government feel from the Latin word regimen "to rule." A political regime has a negative association to it that makes you think of totalitarian governments. How did it come to mean "diet" or "program of exercise" as well? If you are put on a regime of exercise and healthy eating, you are ordered by a doctor to do these things and it probably feels like you're being ruled sometimes!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

regime regimes

Lotus dryly refers to this regime as the “envelope of progressivity.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

President Donald Trump has rolled out a new regime of tariffs.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

EU trade spokesman Olof Gill said: "It is our clear understanding and expectation that the US will honor the commitments that are spelled out under the EU-US Joint Statement, whatever tariff regime is constructed."

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

Issuing the summons against the four men last year, District Judge Stephen Leake said the EA alleged there had been "a deliberate plan by officers of the company to manipulate the OSM regime".

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

“Work and bread for all was the promise of the Nazi regime when it came to power. The promise has been fulfilled. Both work and bread have been provided.”

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Strategists identify themes based on a quantitative formula, evaluating macroeconomic regimes, earnings, valuation and sentiment.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

Advances in sports science, from training regimes to nutrition and recovery, have made it possible for footballers to keep playing at elite level for longer.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

You’ll regularly hear them trying to separate a love of their country and its people from support of problematic regimes.

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026

Old and rusting tankers like these form what maritime experts call the “shadow fleet,” a roving armada of hundreds of vessels that ferry oil for sanctioned regimes, including Iran and Russia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

The United States now has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, dwarfing the rates of nearly every developed country, even surpassing those in highly repressive regimes like Russia, China, and Iran.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

• administration
• establishment
• government
• management
• reign
• rule
• system