Whig

noun

ˈhwig  ˈwig 

1

: a member or supporter of a major British political group of the late 17th through early 19th centuries seeking to limit the royal authority and increase parliamentary power compare tory

2

: an American favoring independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution

3

: a member or supporter of an American political party formed about 1834 in opposition to the Jacksonian Democrats, associated chiefly with manufacturing, commercial, and financial interests, and succeeded about 1854 by the Republican party

Whig adjective

Whiggism

ˈ(h)wi-ˌgi-zəm 

noun

Examples of Whig in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Lawrence was believed to be mentally ill, but Jackson voiced his own opinion: that his political opponents from the Whig Party had hired him to do the job. —Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 16 July 2024

In the pre-Civil War days, before the GOP existed, when there were Whigs and such, Martin Van Buren beat William Henry Harrison in 1836 and lost to him four years later. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 16 May 2024

Either a Republican or a Democrat has claimed the White House since Zachary Taylor won as a Whig in 1848. —Deborah Barfield Berry, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2024

In the United Kingdom, by contrast, from fierce debates among reformers, radicals, Conservatives, Whigs, and workers arose a new social welfare state that treats health and economic inequality as fundamentally linked and tasks the government with a major redistributive role. —David Rosner, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2020

Word History

Etymology

short for Whiggamore, member of a Scottish group that marched to Edinburgh in 1648 to oppose the court party

First Known Use

1702, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

Whig

noun

ˈhwig  ˈwig 

1

: a member or supporter of a British political group of the late 17th through early 19th centuries trying to lessen the power of the monarch and to increase the power of the parliament

2

: an American supporting independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution

3

: a member or supporter of a 19th century American political party formed to oppose the Democrats