WordCodex

government

government - English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈɡʌvə(n)mənt/
  • (General American) IPA: /ˈɡʌvɚ(n)mənt/
  • (Indian English) IPA: /ˈɡəv(ə)mɛnt/
  • (New Zealand) IPA: /ˈɡɐvɘ(n)mɘnt/, /ˈɡɐvmɘnt/
  • Hyphenation: gov‧ern‧ment

Noun

government (countable and uncountable, plural governments)

  1. The body with the power to make and/or enforce laws to control a country, land area, people or organization.
    • British government has historically centred exclusively on London.
  2. (grammar, linguistics) The relationship between a word and its dependents.
  3. The state and its administration viewed as the ruling political power.
    • If the citizens must follow the law, then the government must follow the constitution.
  4. (uncountable) The management or control of a system.
  5. The tenure of a chief of state.
    • The Sunak government announced plans to stem the flow of migrants coming into Great Britain.

Usage notes

In the United States, "government" is considered to be divided into three branches: the legislature (the House of Representatives and the Senate) which makes law, the Administration (under the President) which runs sections of government within the law, and the Courts, which adjudicate on matters of the law. This is a much wider meaning of "government" than exists in the United Kingdom where governance and other words describe the process or power of governing generally and the term "government" is used more particularly of the ruling political force of the prime minister and his/her cabinet ministers (what Americans would call the Administration). In Britain, the administrative organs of the nation are collectively referred to as "the state". In Canada government is used in both senses and neither state nor administration are used. Applied to many countries in continental Europe (when using English), the British usage is common.

In Britain, the word is often capitalised when referring to the particular UK government. British and older works in general may distinguish between Government as the ruling body and government as the practice of governing.

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Translations

Meaning and Definition of government
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