Word
ombudsman
Phoneticsom·buds·man
US/ˈɑmbədzmən/
UK/ˈɒmbʌdzmən/
Definitions
01public investigator
n. an official who investigates complaints from the public against government offices or large companies.
n. an independent official appointed to investigate complaints made by individuals against public authorities or large institutions.
“If the bank does not solve your problem, you can contact the banking ombudsman.”
“The energy ombudsman ruled that the utility company had overcharged the customer and ordered a full refund plus compensation.”
Formal
Synonyms
02internal mediator
n. a person inside a large organisation who helps workers solve problems or disagreements fairly.
n. a designated internal mediator within an organisation who assists members with conflict resolution and recommends policy improvements.
“The university ombudsman helped the student and the professor reach a fair agreement.”
“The corporate ombudsman serves as a neutral party to resolve internal disputes before they escalate to formal legal action.”
Formal · Academic
Usage
Often used with a modifying noun to specify the industry, such as 'financial ombudsman' or 'health ombudsman'.
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“The Republic of Ireland's police ombudsman, Fiosrú is carrying out its own investigation into the crash.” “Gardaí said Fiosrú (the Office of the Police Ombudsman) has been notified of the incident.” Etymology
Borrowed from Swedish ombudsman (equivalent to ombud (“representative, proxy”) + man), from Old Norse umboðsmaðr.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/ombudsman