republic

noun

re·​pub·​lic ri-ˈpə-blik How to pronounce republic (audio)
plural republics
1
a
: a government in which the power belongs to a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by the leaders and representatives elected by those citizens to govern according to law
b
often Republic plural Republics : a country, state, or territory having a republican (see republican entry 2 sense 2a) government
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands …Francis Bellamy
The United States, which the eighteenth-century American elite sought to refashion as a new Roman RepublicMichael Lind
also : a usually specified government of such a country, state, or territory
the French Fourth Republic
c
: a country, state, or territory that is headed by someone other than a hereditary monarch but whose citizens do not hold real power
the former Soviet republics

Note: In modern times, this sense is used in the names of various countries whose forms of government vary greatly and include dictatorships and totalitarian regimes.

see also banana republic
2
a
figurative : a community of beings thought to resemble a political republic especially by exhibiting a general equality among members
… a curious republic of industrious hornets …Michel-Guillaume-Saint-Jean de Crèvecoeur
b
: a group of people freely engaged in a specified activity
a republic of scholars
[Zora Neale] Hurston makes explicit two contradictory and submerged elements of that tradition: First, and most visibly, she restores funkiness and folk roots to black women's discourse; second, and no less important, she dares to articulate black women's craving for independent recognition in the republic of letters. [=the people who read and write literature]Elizabeth Fox-Genovese

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.”

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
That year was in the middle of the Interregnum, a period when Britain was a republic without a king. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Nov. 2024 There are various plots to overthrow the emperors and either wrest control and put the empire in the hands of a single man or return Rome to its days as a republic. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 20 Nov. 2024 Orban was visiting the former Soviet republic Kyrgyzstan when news of Trump's win arrived. Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 15 Nov. 2024 The Russian city of Kaspiysk sits on the Caspian Sea, part of the southwestern republic of Dagestan. Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for republic 

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of republic was in 1596

Dictionary Entries Near republic

Cite this Entry

“Republic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/republic. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

republic

noun
re·​pub·​lic ri-ˈpəb-lik How to pronounce republic (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on republic

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!