Definition of politician
1 : a person experienced in the art or science of government; especially : one actively engaged in conducting the business of a government
2a : a person engaged in party politics as a professionb often disparaging : a person primarily interested in political office for selfish or other narrow usually short-sighted reasons
From the M-W Editors
Recent Examples of politician from the Web
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David Benscoter honed his craft as an investigator for the FBI and the U.S. Treasury, cornering corrupt politicians and tax evaders.
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Despite approval ratings that far exceed those of most other politicians in Indonesia and elsewhere, Ahok faced stiff opposition.
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Democratic Party interns' selfie couldn't be more different than the one Paul Ryan posted >> Americans' disgust with the two-party system and career politicians on both sides of the aisle contributed a great deal to Donald Trump's election.
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What’s most surprising isn’t that politicians start wars to consolidate their own power, but that the people don’t always simply assume that leaders choose war for that reason.
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Numerous Facebook posts show Friberg shaking hands with Vona and dining with Marton Gyöngyösi, another key politician in Jobbik credited with calling for all Jews in Hungary to be registered on a list.
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In Brazil, opposition politicians and other elites, including Mr. Machado and Mr. Jucá, cooperated to impeach Ms. Rousseff in August.
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Outside several homes are plaques announcing which dead politician used to live there.
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A lot of pundits and politicians are telling us not to worry.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'politician'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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First Known Use of politician
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Other Government and Politics Terms
POLITICIAN Defined for English Language Learners
politician
playDefinition of politician for English Language Learners
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: someone who is active in government usually as an elected official
POLITICIAN Defined for Kids
politician
playDefinition of politician for Students
: a person who is active in government usually as an elected official
Learn More about politician
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See words that rhyme with politician Spanish Central: Translation of politician Nglish: Translation of politician for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of politician for Arabic speakers
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