big government

noun

variants: or Big Government

Definition of big government

chiefly US

: government that is regarded as infringing upon the rights of individual citizens because of its extensive bureaucracy and intrusive regulations and policies Big government, in the minds of many Americans, had become the problem, not the solution.— Tom Morganthau Especially coming from a Republican, the Hyde proposals smack uncharacteristically of Big Government, critics say.— John Cloud

Examples of big government in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In the face of this new alliance between big government and big business, conservatives must recover the wisdom of the founders’ vision: liberty, not monopoly. — Josh Hawley, WSJ, "The Big Tech Oligarchy Calls Out for Trustbusters," 30 Apr. 2021 Scott also criticized the new president’s initial priorities — aimed at combating the deadly virus and spurring the economy — as wasteful expansions of big government. — Tim Darnell, ajc, "Biden: ‘I don’t think the American people are racist, but ...’," 30 Apr. 2021 Biden delivered a powerful argument: the era of big government is back. — CNN, "What grade did Biden get on his speech to Congress," 28 Apr. 2021 Conservatives have been slowly turning away from the death penalty for years, as high-profile innocence cases have helped frame capital punishment as a problem of out-of-control big government. — Maurice Chammah And Keri Blakinger, USA TODAY, "Should America's death penalty system be fixed? More Republican lawmakers think so," 16 Apr. 2021 In announcing the mandate, the governor seemed to publicly weigh her concerns about big government versus the need to take action. — New York Times, "‘Folks, We Are Not There Yet’: Alabama Governor Resists Calls to Lift Mask Order," 5 Mar. 2021 Forty years ago, as a second-term senator, Joe Biden voted for the tax cuts that allowed President Reagan to declare an end to big government. — Los Angeles Times, "News Analysis: Even as debt soars, Biden faces few spending constraints," 31 Mar. 2021 Supposedly, its popularity will buoy Democrats in the midterms and its example will re-legitimate big government. — The Editors, National Review, "Democrats Hope ‘COVID Relief’ Will Stimulate Love for the Government," 17 Mar. 2021 Locals say Uniontown is a place where many people distrust big government and are wary of strangers. — al, "The next battle in Alabama: equalizing the vaccine," 16 Mar. 2021

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

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Last Updated

3 May 2021

Cite this Entry

“Big government.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/big%20government. Accessed 14 May. 2021.

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MLA