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government

n.
US //ˈɡəvɝmənt// UK //ɡˈʌvənmənt// gov·ern·ment
  1. 1 the ruling body (n.)
    A2 Elementary

    the group of people who officially control a country or state.

    the executive and legislative body with the authority to make and enforce laws for a nation or region.

    Example

    The government announced new rules for schools this morning.

    Example

    The national government is currently debating a series of fiscal reforms intended to stabilise the economy before the next election cycle.

    Usage

    Often takes a singular verb in American English and a plural verb in British English.
  2. 2 the system of ruling (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    the system or method used to control a country.

    the system of social control under which the right to make laws is vested in a particular group.

    Example

    Many people believe that a democratic government is the best system.

    Example

    The transition from a colonial administration to a representative government required significant structural changes to the legal system.
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  1. 3 period of rule (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    the time when a specific leader or party is in power.

    the period of time during which a particular administration or ministry holds office.

    Example

    Life in the city changed a lot during the previous government.

    Example

    Historians often argue that the government of the 1990s failed to address the underlying causes of the housing crisis.
  2. 4 grammatical control (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical Science

    the way one word in a sentence affects the form of another word.

    the relationship between a word and its dependents, where one word determines the case or form of another.

    Example

    In some languages, the government of a verb determines the case of the noun.

    Example

    The professor explained the rules of syntactic government, specifically how certain prepositions require the dative case in German.

    Teacher's tip

    This is a highly specialised linguistic term; students will rarely encounter it outside of advanced grammar or linguistics courses.
Origin

From Middle English governement, from Old French governement (modern French gouvernement), from governer (see govern) + -ment. Morphologically govern + -ment. Displaced native Old English gerec, leodweard, ræden, rǣding and ealdordōm.

Word family
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