constituency

noun

con·stit·u·en·cy | \ kən-ˈstich-wən(t)-sē

, -ˈsti-chə-, -ˈsti-chü-ən(t)- \

plural constituencies

Definition of constituency

1a : a body of citizens entitled to elect a representative (as to a legislative or executive position) the governor's liberal constituency

b : the residents in an electoral district The senator's constituency includes a large minority population.

c : an electoral district

2a : a group or body that patronizes, supports, or offers representation creating … a grass-roots constituency for continuing the project— Fred Reed

b : the people involved in or served by an organization (such as a business or institution) … regards its corporate customers as its prime constituency.— Andrew Hacker

Examples of constituency in a Sentence

The senator's constituency includes a large minority population. He was elected to represent a Liverpool constituency.

Recent Examples on the Web One vote is for a candidate in their local constituency; the other is for a party’s slate of candidates. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, "How to Fix the House of Representatives," 31 Dec. 2020 At the same time, Democrats saw support slip among Black voters, their most loyal constituency, and Latino voters. — Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY, "'Almost impossible': As education divide deepens, Democrats fear a demographic problem for future power," 24 Nov. 2020 Veterans are a key constituency for Trump, a favorite topic in his tweets and at rallies. — Isaac Arnsdorf, ProPublica, "Veterans Affairs Secretary Headlines GOP Fundraiser as COVID-19 Cases Surge," 21 Oct. 2020 The Black and Hispanic people affected by the coronavirus are not a constituency the Republican party seeks to bring into their tent. — Libby Watson, The New Republic, "The Real Pandemic Gap Is Between the Comfortable and the Afflicted," 14 Aug. 2020 The constituency that agency serves needs to be expanded to include American workers. — Christopher Mackin, The New Republic, "A Pandemic Dividend for Every American," 1 Jan. 2021 British lawmaker Tulip Siddiq, who represents the constituency where the family live in Britain, said Tuesday that the new trial would take place on Sunday. — Sarah Dean, CNN, "Iran court brings new charges against Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, sparking UK outrage," 9 Sep. 2020 Latinos make up almost 15% of his constituency in Utah. — Los Angeles Times, "Column: Here’s what Sen. Mike Lee got wrong about a Smithsonian Latino museum," 17 Dec. 2020 But there is a core constituency of regulars who keep coming back for more. — Sharyn Jackson, Star Tribune, "5 best things our food writers ate in the Twin Cities this week," 20 Nov. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'constituency.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.