government

noun

gov·​ern·​ment ˈgə-vər(n)-mənt 

-və-mənt;

ˈgə-bᵊm-ənt,

-vᵊm-

often attributive

1

: the body of persons that constitutes the governing authority of a political unit or organization: such as

a

: the officials comprising the governing body of a political unit and constituting the organization as an active agency

The government was slow to react to the crisis.

b

capitalized : the executive branch of the U.S. federal government

c

capitalized : a small group of persons holding simultaneously the principal political executive offices of a nation or other political unit and being responsible for the direction and supervision of public affairs:

(1)

: administration sense 4b

(2)

: such a group in a parliamentary system constituted by the cabinet or by the ministry

2

a

: the organization, machinery, or agency through which a political unit exercises authority and performs functions and which is usually classified according to the distribution of power within it

She works for the federal government.

b

: the complex of political institutions, laws, and customs through which the function of governing is carried out

3

: the act or process of governing

specifically : authoritative direction or control

4

: the continuous exercise of authority over and the performance of functions for a political unit : rule

5

: political science

studied economics and government

6

a

: the office, authority, or function of governing

b

obsolete : the term during which a governing official holds office

7

obsolete : moral conduct or behavior : discretion

governmental

ˌgə-vər(n)-ˈmen-tᵊl 

adjective

governmentalize

ˌgə-vər(n)-ˈmen-tə-ˌlīz 

transitive verb

governmentally

ˌgə-vər(n)-ˈmen-tᵊl-ē 

adverb

Synonyms

• administration
• authority
• governance
• jurisdiction
• regime
• régime
• regimen
• rule

Examples of government in a Sentence

The government has been slow to react to the crisis.

She works for the federal government.

We need to improve relations with foreign governments.

He is a firm believer in democratic government.

We learned about different methods of government.

The country has been damaged by many years of weak government.

See More

Recent Examples on the Web

The government already knew who some of the men were. —Timothy McLaughlin, Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2023

And there is unease in the U.S. government with how much less public attention the war in Ukraine has garnered since the Israel-Hamas war began nearly a month ago, the officials said. —Kristen Welker, NBC News, 3 Nov. 2023

Some have directed their frustrations toward the U.S. government. —Zohreen Shah, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2023

Job growth slowed more than expected in October and the unemployment rate climbed to 3.9%, marking the end of large monthly gains, the government reported on Friday. —Kate Gibson, CBS News, 3 Nov. 2023

Their departures were part of an agreement from the West German and Romanian governments to allow ethnic Germans to leave Romania. —Leo Barraclough, Variety, 3 Nov. 2023

Three weeks after the bloody massacre that killed 1,400 people in southern Israel, the cramped yellow building that houses Israel’s government forensic laboratory is still inundated with unidentified remains. —David S. Cloud, WSJ, 3 Nov. 2023

But Jack Cooper still needs to convince Yellow’s creditors, including the U.S. government, which gave Yellow $700 million in an emergency loan in 2020. —Alan Murray, Fortune, 3 Nov. 2023

According to the Israeli government, there are more than 200 hostages being held in Gaza, including some Americans. —CBS News, 22 Oct. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

see govern

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing government

• counter-government
• anti-government
• student government
• self-government
• parliamentary government
• big government
• local government
• sub-government
• presidential government
• machine of government

See More

• counter-government
• anti-government
• student government
• self-government
• parliamentary government
• big government
• local government
• sub-government
• presidential government
• machine of government

See More

Kids Definition

government

noun

gov·​ern·​ment ˈgəv-ər(n)-mənt 

ˈgəb-ᵊm-ənt,

ˈgəv-mənt

1

a

: the act or process of governing

especially : direction of a political unit

b

: the making of policy as distinguished from the administration of policy decisions

2

a

: the agency through which a political unit exercises authority

b

: manner of governing : the institutions, laws, and customs through which a political unit is governed

republican government

3

a

: the officials making up the governing body of a political unit

b

capitalized : the executive branch of the U.S. federal government

4

: political science

government adjective

governmental

ˌgəv-ər(n)-ˈment-ᵊl 

adjective

governmentally

-ᵊl-ē 

adverb

Legal Definition

government

noun

gov·​ern·​ment ˈgə-vər-mənt, -vərn- 

1

: the act or process of governing

specifically : authoritative direction or control

2

: the office, authority, or function of governing

3

: the continuous exercise of authority over and the performance of functions for a political unit : rule

4

a

: the organization, machinery, or agency through which a political unit exercises authority and performs functions and which is usually classified according to the distribution of power within it

b

: the complex of political institutions, laws, and customs through which the function of governing is carried out

5

: the body of persons that constitutes the governing authority of a political unit or organization: as

a

: the officials comprising the governing body of a political unit and constituting the organization as an active agency

b

capitalized : the executive branch of the U.S. federal government

c

: the prosecution in a criminal case in its capacity as agents of the political unit

the government failed to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt

governmental adjective

governmentally adverb