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rotten borough
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noun
(before the Reform Bill of 1832) any English borough that had very few voters yet was represented in Parliament.
an election district that has more representatives in a legislative body than the number of its constituents would normally call for.
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Origin of rotten borough
First recorded in 1805–15
Words nearby rotten borough
rototome, rotovate, rotproof, rotten, rotten apple, rotten borough, rotten egg, rotten ice, rottenstone, rotten to the core, rotter
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use rotten borough in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for rotten borough
rotten borough
noun
(before the Reform Act of 1832) any of certain English parliamentary constituencies with only a very few electorsCompare pocket borough
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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