policymaking

noun

pol·​i·​cy·​mak·​ing ˈpä-lə-sē-ˌmā-kiŋ 

variants or policy-making

: the act or practice of establishing policy

… Bloomberg described a world where cities, rather than nations, are the major players in both global competition and innovative policymaking …

—Rob Fischer

… leaked word … that all Iraq policymaking was being centralized at the White House …

—Michael Duffy et al.

—sometimes used before another noun

the policymaking process

The Fed's policymaking committee sets rates that serve as the benchmark for the interest rates charged on mortgages, car loans, credit cards, and certificates of deposit.

—Kevin G. Hall

The controller manages a state office of more than 1,400 workers and ensures tax dollars are efficiently and effectively spent. With a few exceptions, it is not a policymaking position.

—The East Bay Times (California)

Examples of policymaking in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This means embedding communication at the core of policymaking—not as a final step but as a foundational process. —Majeed Javdani, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025

As well as transgender women no longer being able to sit on public boards in places reserved for women, it is expected to shape social policymaking on issues such as public changing rooms and women-only spaces. —Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 1 May 2025

Military families, whose stability should be a national priority, are left instead navigating economic turbulence born out of reckless policymaking. —Michael B Smith, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Apr. 2025

All things considered, the economic policymaking of Trump’s team looks less like rational deliberation and more like firefighting while knowing that the fire chief is the primary arsonist. —John Cassidy, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for policymaking

• aching
• baking
• braking
• breaking
• caking
• faking
• flaking
• making
• quaking
• raking
• shaking
• slaking