democracy

noun

de·​moc·​ra·​cy di-ˈmä-krə-sē 

plural democracies

1

: government by the people : rule of the majority

I … have always believed in democracy, in the elementary liberal doctrine of a self-governing humanity.

—G. K. Chesterton

: such as

a

: a form of government in which the people elect representatives to make decisions, policies, laws, etc. according to law

Free and fair elections are a hallmark of American democracy.

—CISA.gov

called also representative democracy

b

: a form of government in which the people vote directly against or in favor of decisions, policies, laws, etc.

… in a democracy, the people meet and exercise the government in person; in a republic, they assemble and administer it by their representatives and agents. A democracy, consequently, will be confined to a small spot. A republic may be extended over a large region.

—James Madison

called also direct democracy, pure democracy

2

: a country, state, etc. whose form of government is democracy : a political unit that has a democratic government

Western democracies

a parliamentary democracy such as Canada or the United Kingdom

3

a

: an organization or situation in which everyone is treated equally and has the right to participate equally in management, decision-making, etc.

A large company is not a democracy. It needs a leader to make a decision.

—George Jones

… there is no democracy within the organization. A small group of self-appointed men … controls the entire effort, including its theology, finances, and personnel.

—John M. Swomley

b

: political, social, or economic equality : the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges

I grew up in the pure democracy of a public grade school where everybody brought a valentine for everybody on Valentine's Day so we should feel equally loved …

—Garrison Keillor

4

Democracy plural Democracies, dated : the Democratic Party of the U.S. or its principles or policies

… that wing of the Democracy headed by Senator Douglas …

—Abraham Lincoln

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the United States a democracy or a republic?

The United States is both a democracy and a republic. Democracies and republics are both forms of government in which supreme power resides in the citizens. The word republic refers specifically to a government in which those citizens elect representatives who govern according to the law. The word democracy can refer to this same kind of representational government, or it can refer instead to what is also called a direct democracy, in which the citizens themselves participate in the act of governing directly.

What is the basic meaning of democracy?

The word democracy most often refers to a form of government in which people choose leaders by voting.

What is a democratic system of government?

A democratic system of government is a form of government in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodic free elections.

Synonyms

• republic
• self-government
• self-rule

Examples of democracy in a Sentence

Democracy, I would repeat, is the noblest form of government we have yet evolved … —Norman Mailer, New York Review of Books, 27 Mar. 2002

… this and the economic failures of faithful democracies in places such as India or the Anglophone Caribbean demonstrated conclusively that there was no inherent link between freedom and capitalism … —Orlando Patterson, New Republic, 8 Nov. 1999

Even in democracies today, crucial knowledge is available to only a few individuals … —Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel, 1997

The nation has chosen democracy over monarchy.

In a democracy, every citizen should have the right to vote.

The company is not a democracy; decisions are made by a board of directors, not the workers.

There is democracy within the company.

Recent Examples on the Web

But perhaps the most serious rebuke to the liberal international order has come from inside the democracies, where populist parties have hitched economic grievances, anti-immigrant sentiments, and the loss of faith in their own elites and institutions to an authoritarian domestic turn. —Margaret MacMillan, The Atlantic, 30 Apr. 2025

The federal courts have toggled back and forth between narrow and liberal interpretations of the Constitution’s applicability to immigrants facing deportation – shifts that reflect competing visions of American nationhood and the boundaries of liberal democracy. —Rick Baldoz, The Conversation, 30 Apr. 2025

So curtailing their work is another arrow aimed at the heart of democracy, as damaging as the attack on universities and the free press. —Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2025

The group's latest initiative continues its campaign of peaceful resistance, using the symbolism of May Day—a historic day of worker solidarity—to spotlight broader concerns about democracy and rising authoritarianism. —Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French democracie, democratie, borrowed from Late Latin dēmocratia, borrowed from Greek dēmokratía, from dēmo- demo- + -kratia -cracy

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing democracy

• direct democracy
• pure democracy
• representative democracy
• social democracy

Rhymes for democracy

• autocracy
• bureaucracy
• hypocrisy
• plutocracy
• theocracy
• aristocracy
• meritocracy

Kids Definition

democracy

noun

de·​moc·​ra·​cy di-ˈmäk-rə-sē 

plural democracies

1

a

: government by the people

especially : rule of the majority

b

: government in which the supreme power is held by the people and used by them directly or indirectly through representation

2

: a political unit (as a nation) that has a democratic government

3

: belief in or practice of the idea that all people are socially equal

Etymology

from early French democratie "democracy," from Latin democratia (same meaning), from Greek demokratia "democracy," from dēmos "people, the masses" and -kratia "rule, government," from kratos "strength, power, authority" — related to epidemic

Legal Definition

democracy

noun

de·​moc·​ra·​cy di-ˈmä-krə-sē 

plural democracies

1

a

: government by the people

especially : rule of the majority

b

: 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

2

: a political unit that has a democratic government

democratic

ˌde-mə-ˈkra-tik 

adjective

democratically adverb