republic

noun

re·​pub·​lic ri-ˈpə-blik 

1

a(1)

: a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president

(2)

: a political unit (such as a nation) having such a form of government

b(1)

: a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law

(2)

: a political unit (such as a nation) having such a form of government

c

: a usually specified republican government of a political unit

the French Fourth Republic

2

: a body of persons freely engaged in a specified activity

the republic of letters

3

: a constituent political and territorial unit of the former nations of Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, or Yugoslavia

Did you know?

Is the United States a democracy or a republic?

One of the most commonly encountered questions about the word democracy has nothing to do with its spelling or pronunciation, and isn’t even directly related to the meaning of the word itself. That question is “is the United States a democracy or a republic?” The answer to this, as with so many other questions about meaning, may be phrased as some form of “it depends.”

Some people assert that a country calling itself a democracy must be engaged in direct (or pure) democracy, in which the people of a state or region vote directly for policies, rather than elect representatives who make choices on their behalf. People who follow this line of reasoning hold that the United States is more properly described as a republic, using the following definition of that word: "a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law."

However, both democracy and republic have more than a single meaning, and one of the definitions we provide for democracy closely resembles the definition of republic given above: "a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections."

So if someone asks you if the United States is a democracy or a republic, you may safely answer the question with either “both” or “it depends.”

Synonyms

• democracy
• self-government
• self-rule

Examples of republic in a Sentence

when asked by a passerby what sort of government the constitutional convention had formulated for the new nation, Benjamin Franklin memorably replied, “A republic, if you can keep it”

Recent Examples on the Web

A couple from Moldova, a former Soviet republic where Russia still has considerable influence, were subsequently arrested. —Tom Soufi Burridge, ABC News, 8 Nov. 2023

Will Putin deploy the worst weapons in his arsenal or extend his forces to other former Soviet republics? —David Remnick, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2023

Drawing on archival documents from several former Soviet republics and from the United States, this highly persuasive work studies defection as an important element of the Cold War. —Erik R. Scott, Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2023

Elected in 1996, Mr. Albanese saw the failure of the 1999 referendum for Australia to become a republic. —Kirsty Needham, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Oct. 2023

In republics, the public is, also, accused of ingratitude to its servants. —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 9 Oct. 2023

The Prime Minister’s remarks come amid growing calls for the United Kingdom to pay reparations to several Caribbean countries, which are former colonies of Britain, and as more countries in the region, including Grenada, share their intentions of replacing the Monarchy and becoming a republic. —Melissa Noel, Essence, 2 Nov. 2023

Telegram has blocked a channel popular in Russia’s Muslim-majority Dagestan republic after government officials blamed it for inspiring a violent mob that breached the area’s main airport looking for passengers on a flight from Israel. —Kevin Collier, NBC News, 30 Oct. 2023

As the Kremlin seeks to reduce ethnic tensions, a mob in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan stormed an airport looking for a flight carrying Jewish passengers. —Ronen Bergman, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

French république, from Middle French republique, from Latin respublica, from res thing, wealth + publica, feminine of publicus public — more at real, public

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Phrases Containing republic

• banana republic

• banana republic

Kids Definition

republic

noun

re·​pub·​lic ri-ˈpəb-lik 

1

: a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who is usually a president

2

: a government in which supreme power belongs to the citizens through their right to vote

3

: a political unit having a republican form of government

4

: a political and territorial unit of the former nations of the U.S.S.R., Czechoslovakia, or Yugoslavia

Etymology

from French république "republic," derived from Latin respublica "republic, public matters, commonweal," literally "public things," from res "thing, matter" and publica, a feminine form of publicus "relating to the people as a whole, public" — related to public, real, rebus

Legal Definition

republic

noun

re·​pub·​lic

1

: a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president

also : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government

2

: a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law

also : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government