pressure group

noun

Updated on: 3 Mar 2018

Definition of pressure group

: an interest group organized to influence public and especially government policy but not to elect candidates to office

See pressure group defined for English-language learners

Examples of pressure group in a Sentence

a pressure group trying to reduce taxes
observed that if publishers gave in to every pressure group, nothing would ever get published

Recent Examples of pressure group from the Web

The authorities have prevented Mihra Rittmann, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, a pressure group, from visiting the country for two years on similar grounds.

— The Economist, "Repression in Kyrgyzstan is eroding Central Asia’s only democracy," 18 Jan. 2018
Human Rights Watch, a pressure group, counts thousands more detained for their political opinions.

— The Economist, "Ethiopia’s regime flirts with letting dissidents speak without locking them up," 27 Jan. 2018
In September a delegation from Human Rights Watch, an international pressure group, was admitted for the first time since 2010.

— The Economist, "A year after the despot’s deathAn Uzbek spring has sprung, but summer is still a long way off," 14 Dec. 2017
Labour First, a moderate pressure group, complained loudly that the left had stitched up the conference by denying speaking roles to centrists, most notably Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London (the organisers eventually relented).

— The Economist, "BagehotBritain now has a four-party system," 30 Sep. 2017
Might new pressure groups emerge that will champion new priorities, such as using the tax code to give working- and lower–middle-income families more of a leg up?

— reihan salam, Slate Magazine, "The GOP Needs New Ideas for Lowering Taxes," 19 Apr. 2017
Architect Barbara Weiss, founder of the Skyline Campaign -- a pressure group that lobbies against the onslaught of tall buildings in development in London -- deems the protected view corridors out of date and elitist.

— francesca street, CNN, "Are London's protected view corridors still relevant today?," 21 Sep. 2017

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

First Known Use of pressure group

1924

pressure group Synonyms

Synonyms

interest, interest group, special interest;

Related Words

vested interest;

political action committee;

PRESSURE GROUP Defined for English Language Learners

pressure group

noun

Definition of pressure group for English Language Learners

: a group of people who share an interest, concern, or set of opinions and who try to influence politics or the policies of government, business, etc.