civil rights

plural noun

: rights that citizens are guaranteed by their government through legislation or other government action to ensure equal opportunities (as for employment, education, housing, or voting) and equal protection under the law regardless of personal characteristics such as race, religion, or sex

especially : the rights of personal liberty guaranteed to U.S. citizens by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution and by acts of Congress

Note: The 13th Amendment (ratified 1865) abolished slavery and the 14th Amendment (ratified 1868) granted citizenship and equal rights to all people born or naturalized in the U.S., including formerly enslaved people and African Americans generally. The 15th Amendment (ratified 1870) guaranteed the right to vote regardless of color or former enslavement.

compare civil liberty see also civil rights movement

Examples of civil rights in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Kitty-corner from the park is 16th Street Baptist Church, the city's first Black congregation, housed in a thick tan brick building of Romanesque-Byzantine design, which became a center for civil rights meetings. — Leslie Pariseau, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Oct. 2026

When democratic activists demanded greater civil rights in the late nineteenth century, some yakuza came out to guard their rallies. — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026

Current and former officials say most of the attorneys who have been hired don't have much experience—if any—in civil rights work. — Ryan Lucas, NPR, 11 Oct. 2026

Jonathan Evans, a civil rights attorney who has sued the department, thinks the big payouts show that greater public awareness of mental health issues is a factor. — Sean Greene, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

see civil

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for civil rights

• acolytes
• ammonites
• amorites
• analytes
• andesites
• appetites
• argillites
• astrocytes
• belemnites
• bryophytes
• canaanites
• carmelites

Kids Definition

civil rights

plural noun

: the nonpolitical rights of a citizen

especially : the rights of personal liberty guaranteed to U.S. citizens by the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution and by acts of Congress