the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states; direction of the affairs of a state, community, etc.; political administration: Government is necessary to the existence of civilized society.
the form or system of rule by which a state, community, etc., is governed: monarchical government; episcopal government.
the governing body of persons in a state, community, etc.; administration.
a branch or service of the supreme authority of a state or nation, taken as representing the whole: a dam built by the government.
(in some parliamentary systems, as that of the United Kingdom)
the particular group of persons forming the cabinet at any given time: The prime minister has formed a new government.
the parliament along with the cabinet: The government has fallen.
direction; control; management; rule: the government of one's conduct.
a district governed; province.
political science.
Grammar. the extablished usage that requires that one word in a sentence should cause another to be of a particular form: the government of the verb by its subject.
Origin of government
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Old French word governement.See govern, -ment
grammar notes for government
See collective noun.
pronunciation note for government
Normal phonological processes are reflected in a variety of pronunciations for government. Most commonly, the first [n] /n/ of [guhv-ern-muhnt] /ˈgʌv ərn mənt/ assimilates to the immediately following [m], /m/, with the resulting identical nasal sounds coalescing to give the pronunciation [guhv-er-muhnt]. /ˈgʌv ər mənt/. This pronunciation is considered standard and occurs throughout the U.S. For speakers in regions where postvocalic [r] /r/ is regularly lost, as along the Eastern Seaboard and in the South, the resulting pronunciation is [guhv-uh-muhnt] /ˈgʌv ə mənt/ or, with loss of the medial unstressed vowel, [guhv-muhnt]. /ˈgʌv mənt/. Further assimilation, in which the labiodental [v], /v/, in anticipation of the bilabial quality of the following [m], /m/, becomes the bilabial stop [b], /b/, leads in the South Midland and Southern U.S. to the pronunciation [guhb-muhnt]. /ˈgʌb mənt/. See isn't.
A few years back, designer John Galliano was fined by the government for sharing just such anti-semitic sentiments in public.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Not actual CIA agents, but U.S. government personnel who have worked very closely with the CIA, and who are fans of the show.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I think the response of the French government so far has been pretty appropriate in that regard.
Harry Shearer on The Dangerous Business of Satire|Lloyd Grove|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The United States government might not release that information for years, if ever.
Was Sony Hit With a Second Hack?|Shane Harris|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But most likely it was linked to the way priests identify with the poor in the face of government and criminal abuses.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
No officer of the Italian government was to enter the Lateran or Vatican palaces upon any official mission.
An Introduction to the History of Western Europe|James Harvey Robinson
The attempted suppression of his trade by the Egyptian Government drove him naturally into opposition.
The River War|Winston S. Churchill
If not in the Government plan the secretary would under-take to make such a map.
Northern Nut Growers Association, Report of the Proceedings at the Fourth Annual Meeting|Various
Mrs. Morris then proceeded to give in fragmentary speeches an outline of the constitution and government of the estate.
Desperate Remedies|Thomas Hardy
The non-importation act being still in force, these goods were seized as forfeited to the Government.
The Second War with England, Vol. 1 of 2|J. T. Headley.
British Dictionary definitions for government
government
/ (ˈɡʌvənmənt, ˈɡʌvəmənt) /
noun
the exercise of political authority over the actions, affairs, etc, of a political unit, people, etc, as well as the performance of certain functions for this unit or body; the action of governing; political rule and administration
the system or form by which a community, etc, is ruledtyrannical government
the executive policy-making body of a political unit, community, etc; ministry or administrationyesterday we got a new government
(capital when of a specific country)the British Government
the state and its administrationblame it on the government
(as modifier)a government agency
regulation; direction
grammarthe determination of the form of one word by another word
Where Did The Acronyms POTUS And FLOTUS Come From?It's hard to miss the terms POTUS and FLOTUS these days, especially on Twitter. Where did we get these terms for the President and First Lady?