government
Syllables: gov·ern·ment/ˈɡʌv.ə.mənt//ˈɡʌv.ɚ(n).mənt/
government noun: the body with the power to make and/or enforce laws to control a country, land area, people or organization. Also the ellipsis of government name.
Noun
government (countable and uncountable, plural governments)
- The body with the power to make and/or enforce laws to control a country, land area, people or organization.
- British government has historically centred exclusively on London.
- […]and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.1863 November 19, Abraham Lincoln, Dedicatory Remarks (Gettysburg Address)^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address_(Bancroft_draft)), near Soldiers' National Cemetery, →LCCN, Bancroft...
- The relationship between a word and its dependents.
- The state and its administration viewed as the ruling political power.
- Near-synonyms: state, administration
- If the citizens must follow the law, then the government must follow the constitution.
- Synonyms:
- state, administration, governance, management, statism
- The management or control of a system.
- The government of the Church is maintained without material alteration in a settled hierarchical form.1908, Walter Frederic Adeney, The Greek and Eastern churches, page 275
- Whereas it is expedient to amend the law relating to the government of Her Majesty's Navy, whereon, under the good Providence of God, the wealth, safety and strength of the Kingdom so much depend:1957, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Preamble”, in Naval Discipline Act 1957, page 14
- The tenure of a head of government; the ministry or administration led by a specified individual.
- The Sunak government announced plans to stem the flow of migrants coming into Great Britain.
- In a parliamentary system, the political party or coalition in power; its condition of being in power.
- The team tasked with presenting and speaking in favour of a resolution, as opposed to the opposition.
- A guberniya.
- with its centre in Liubawitz, in the Government of Mohilev.1929, Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, Jewish Music: Its Historical Development, page 418
Also used as
government is also the ellipsis of government name.
government meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
government in Hindi
- body with the power to make and/or enforce laws
- सरकार sarkār, हुकूमत hukūmat
government in Tamil
- body with the power to make and/or enforce laws
- அரசு aracu, அரசாங்கம் aracāṅkam
- state and its administration
- அரசாங்கம் aracāṅkam, அரசு aracu
- management or control of a system
- ஆட்சி āṭci
- tenure of a chief of state
- ஆட்சி āṭci
government in Marathi
- body with the power to make and/or enforce laws
- सरकार sarkār, शासन śāsan
government in Urdu
- body with the power to make and/or enforce laws
- حُکُومَت hukūmat, سَرْکار sarkār, دَولَت daulat
More languagesFewer languages
- government in Bengali
- সরকার śorkar, হুকুমত hukumot, দৌলত dōulot
- government in Telugu
- ప్రభుత్వం prabhutvaṁ, సర్కారు sarkāru
- government in Malayalam
- സർക്കാർ saṟkkāṟ, ഭരണകൂടം bharaṇakūṭaṁ
- government in Kannada
- ಸರಕಾರ sarakāra
- government in Punjabi
- ਸਰਕਾਰ sarkār
- government in Gujarati
- સરકાર sarkār
- government in Odia
- ସରକାର sarakāra
- government in Sanskrit
- शासन śāsana, राज्य rājya, नृपक्रिया nṛpakriyā, राजता rājatā
- government in Sinhala
- රජය rajaya
- government in Assamese
- চৰকাৰ sorokar
- government in Nepali
- सरकार sarkār
- government in Pashto
- حکومت hokumat, سرکار sarkār, دولت dawlat
- government in Tagalog
- gobyerno, pamahalaan
- government in Arabic
- حُكُومَة ḥukūma
- government in Malay
- kerajaan, pemerintah
- government in Indonesian
- pemerintah
- government in Thai
- รัฐบาล rát-tà-baan
- government in Vietnamese
- chính phủ
- government in Myanmar
- အစိုးရ a.cui:ra.
- Dzongkha
- སྲིད་གཞུང srid gzhung
Examples of government in a sentence
- Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive.2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68:
- From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins.2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 76:
Synonyms of government
Antonyms
Forms of government
| plural | governments |
|---|---|
| alternative Manglish Singlish | gahmen |
| alternative Manglish Singlish | gomen |
| alternative form (obsolete) | gouernement |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | gub'mint |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | gubmint |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | gummint |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | gubbamint |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | guvmint |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | guvment |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | gumment |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | guv'ment |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | guv'mint |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | gubberment |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | gubbermint |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | gubment |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | gub'ment |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | govermint |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | guvverment |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | guvvermint |
Origin of government
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.
Words formed from government
- anti-government
- antigovernment
- band government
- branch of government
- caretaker government
- central government
- close enough for government work
- cogovernment
- countergovernment
- cybergovernment
- eGovernment
- e-government
- form of government
- G2P
- G2Px
- good enough for government work
- government agent
- governmental
- government bond
- government cheese
- government debt
- governmentese
- government expenditure
- government failure
- government formation
- government house
- government in exile
- government-in-exile
- governmentish
- governmentism
- government issue
- governmentist
- government legal
- governmentless
- governmentlike
- government man
- government name
- government note
- government-owned and controlled corporation
- government purchases
- government security
- government shutdown
- government spending
- government stroke
- government take
- government-to-person
- government trophy
- government wharf
- governmentwide
- governmentwise
- governmenty
- govware
- head of government
- in government
- Jewish occupation government
- machine of government
- malgovernment
- microgovernment
- misgovernment
- non-government
Phrases with government
- HM Government
- big government
- government men
- Government Hill
- government bonds
- government names
- government notes
- government takes
- local government
- government issues
- government wharfs
- puppet government
31 more phrasesFewer phrases
- secret government
- shadow government
- zombie government
- Closing Government
- federal government
- General Government
- government wharves
- interim government
- Opening Government
- seat of government
- unitary government
- forms of government
- government failures
- government trophies
- heads of government
- majority government
- military government
- minority government
- rotation government
- seats of government
- government shutdowns
- invisible government
- petticoat government
- branches of government
- machines of government
- provisional government
- government expenditures
- representative government
- Délı̨nę Got'ı̨nę Government
- Zionist occupation government
- Revolutionary Government Junta
Questions about government
- What does government mean?
- Government means the body with the power to make and/or enforce laws to control a country, land area, people or organization.
- What is government in Hindi?
- Government in Hindi is सरकार (sarkār), हुकूमत (hukūmat). See Government meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use government in a sentence?
- Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive.
- What part of speech is government?
- Government is a noun.
- How do you pronounce government?
- Government is pronounced /ˈɡʌv.ɚ(n).mənt/ (US).
- What is the plural of government?
- The plural of government is governments.
Words near government in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: government (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-government.ogg, En-uk-government.ogg.
Cite this entry: “government.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/government. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.