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 movementExamples of civil rights in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
If approved, that settlement cost would end a civil rights lawsuit filed by the family of Keishon Thomas in February.
—
David Clarey, jsonline.com, 18 Nov. 2025
From her birth in 1933, to 1937, Eunice Kathleen Waymon, the musician and civil rights activist known to the world as Nina Simone, lived in a three-room, 650-square-foot house in Tryon, North Carolina, nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
—Carly Olson, Architectural Digest, 17 Nov. 2025
After King’s assassination in 1968, Jackson became one of the most transformative civil rights leaders in America.
—Abby Phillip, CNN Money, 16 Nov. 2025
Adair’s family tapped national civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels, who sent the Unified Government of Wyandotte County a notice of intent to file a lawsuit last month.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 15 Nov. 2025
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David Clarey, jsonline.com, 18 Nov. 2025
From her birth in 1933, to 1937, Eunice Kathleen Waymon, the musician and civil rights activist known to the world as Nina Simone, lived in a three-room, 650-square-foot house in Tryon, North Carolina, nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
—Carly Olson, Architectural Digest, 17 Nov. 2025
After King’s assassination in 1968, Jackson became one of the most transformative civil rights leaders in America.
—Abby Phillip, CNN Money, 16 Nov. 2025
Adair’s family tapped national civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels, who sent the Unified Government of Wyandotte County a notice of intent to file a lawsuit last month.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 15 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil rights
Cite this Entry
“Civil rights.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20rights. Accessed 23 Nov. 2025.
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