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

Barricades separated them from the bigger demonstration, and heavily armed police ensured that the two constituencies had limited contact. — Brian Goldstone, The New Republic, "Essential reporting, interpretation, and opinion on politics and culture. Don't miss our latest.," 26 June 2018 Liberalisation has undercut producers in those sectors most vulnerable to foreign competition, who are also the constituency most in favour of protectionism. — The Economist, "In America, a political coalition in favour of protectionism may be emerging," 15 Mar. 2018 Democratic presidential candidates have to energize a diverse group of constituencies, more so than Republicans, whose party is much more homogeneous. — Laura Mcgann, Vox, "Gillum 2020?," 7 Nov. 2018 Clark will oversee White House outreach with key constituencies, coalitions, grassroots organizations and allies, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Monday. — Neil Vigdor, courant.com, "Connecticut's Justin Clark And Raj Shah Will Promote Trump Nominee For Supreme Court," 2 July 2018 The party committee has invested heavily in voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts to combat the traditionally low turnout of several key Democratic constituencies during the June primaries. — Ronald Brownstein, CNN, "One of Trump's top California critics could help him hold the House," 29 May 2018 Public banking carries appeal for politicians of different constituencies. — David Dayen, The New Republic, "How a pot crisis restarted a conversation about public banking in America," 27 Apr. 2018 Here’s another important constituency that doesn’t trust Google much: the European Union. — Dieter Bohn, The Verge, "The Verge 2018 tech report card: Google," 26 Dec. 2018 The spread of extreme partisan gerrymandering and voter ID laws, tools used by Republicans to marginalize minorities and other Democratic-leaning constituencies, are the most obvious examples. — Zack Beauchamp, Vox, "The Wisconsin power grab is part of a bigger Republican attack on democracy," 6 Dec. 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.