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

In 2010, Raab was elected as the representative for the Esher and Walton constituency in Parliament. — Amanda Erickson, Washington Post, "Meet Britain’s new ‘Brexit secretary,’ a man Theresa May once accused of fueling ‘gender warfare’," 10 July 2018 Ocasio-Cortez was perhaps more keenly aware of that than others: Her mostly-Latino constituency is more worried about climate change than other demographic groups, and her own grandfather died in Hurricane Maria. — Emily Atkin, The New Republic, "Can Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Save The Planet?," 3 July 2018 The party was smart about allocating resources, choosing candidates for constituencies and using Modi wisely. — Kamakshi Ayyar, Time, "Here's What a Recent State-Level Vote Reveals About India's 2019 General Elections," 24 May 2018 Obviously if your travel time included activities that easily translate to the work world, emphasize those — playing a key role on a volunteer team that solved some problem for a deserving constituency, for example. — New York Times, "How to Make a Travel Break Sound Like Work Experience," 6 Apr. 2018 The strategy paid off for one constituency: Harvard’s money managers. — Michael Mcdonald, Bloomberg.com, "Harvard Blew $1 Billion in Bet on Tomatoes, Sugar, and Eucalyptus," 1 Mar. 2018 Liaison to social conservatives Selected as Trump’s running mate in part for his strong ties to social conservatives, Pence remains a key administration ally for that constituency. — Maureen Groppe, Indianapolis Star, "9 telling takeaways from Vice President Pence's first year," 21 Jan. 2018 And there is a much bigger constituency that might appreciate a dash more Trumpery in their politicians. — The Economist, "Donald Trump lays into Britain’s Brexit plan," 13 July 2018 His candidacy does raise a very-2018 question: Is there a constituency out there for never-Trump Republicans? — Amber Phillips, Washington Post, "Meet Richard Painter, the anti-Trump former Republican who is running for Senate as a Democrat," 25 May 2018

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.