1treated as singular or plural The governing body of a nation, state, or community.

1. 1.1 The system by which a nation, state, or community is governed.
   a secular, pluralistic, democratic government

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The Republic of Cyprus is a democracy with a presidential system of government.
   • It is about whether we will have a system of government and a social system in which we see each other as equals.
   • He appears to have thought that Communism was as good as any other system of government.
   • Once upon a time, democratic government at all levels, reflected the views of the majority of the people.
   • Is a democratic form of government a necessary pre-condition for the existence of human rights?
   • The blame lies with central government which has restricted local council funding.
   • It means a form of government which is fully democratic and entirely accountable.
   • The American bureaucracy fits somewhat awkwardly into its democratic system of government.
   • As time moves on we see more States conforming to this system of government.
   • We must try to live up to our stated principles of human rights, the rule of law and democratic government.
   • This in turn would pose dangers to the operation of democratic government within the United States.
   • With it went the whole structure of provincial, local, and municipal government.
   • We are not in the area of common law or a unitary system of government.
   • Australia is a parliamentary democracy based on the British system of government.
   • First, federalism can deliver a model of limited, democratic government within a nation.
   • Our system of government can be called many things, but democracy is certainly is not.
   • This makes democratic government in such states impossible, for the natural terminus is a single dominant party.
   • Is this really the way in which democratic government should work, where a minority hold sway over the ignored majority?
   • The tradition is a legacy from the days when Democrats dominated state government.
   • A second shift is to move tax and spending from federal government to states and towns.
2. 1.2 The action or manner of controlling or regulating a nation, organization, or people.
   rules for the government of the infirmary

   Example sentencesExamples

   • On the one hand, this faith in government helped promote a high rate of investment.
   • Government by organized money is just as dangerous as government by organized mob.
   • Is this something the Liberal Democrats in government will seek to change?
   • They will be forced to turn to the Social Democrats who remain in government to work together.
   • In an age of open government the system is still adept at keeping the public in the dark.
   • English is spoken by most people in government, business, and tourism.
   • It has acknowledged that the Labour Party can be the only major party of stable government in this nation.
   • She advocates the control of the excesses of capitalism by regulation and government.
   • Policy, in that key meaning, is part of the rational management and conduct of government.
   • The War Crimes act was passed while the Conservative Party was in government.
   • In its period in government the party encouraged religious prejudices and backwardness.
   • A simple view suggests that the making of foreign policy is the exclusive business of government.
   • The Commission's work has also influenced the manner in which government operates.
   • Surely the Liberal Democrats are in government and the money is designated only for opposition parties?
   • None the less skill and wisdom were needed in politics and the business of good government.
   • He's talking about class and race and a vision of how government can help regular people.
   • How does the historian account for that relationship and its government of people's lives?
   • Liberal Democrats in government in Scotland have set the new agenda for devolution.
   • The privatizers traditionally claim that government has no business in business.
   • Democracy is government by the greater number, and this is the system we have chosen to be governed by.

   Synonyms

   rule, running, direction, administration, leadership, leading, control, regulation, guidance, guiding, management, conduct, supervision, superintendence, steering
3. 1.3 The group of people in office at a particular time; administration.
   the election of the new government

   Example sentencesExamples

   • One of the immediate tasks of a new government and the international community will be bringing war criminals to justice.
   • After all, it was the nation, the government, who would pay, not the hospitals.
   • He was to form no less than fourteen governments as Prime Minister during the rest of his life.
   • Giving and receiving freedom will take only a day, but running a government and a nation is not an easy task.
   • Do you feel confident that the federal government is doing enough to secure air travel?
   • Let's consider for a moment the possibility of a minority government being elected in the next federal vote.
   • The federal government has been unsuccessful for ten years in negotiating a peace.
   • However, that was a political decision based on the actions of an entire nation and its government.
   • But we need to build a movement so strong that it can force the governments of the world to act.
   • It is going to be interesting to see how long the federal government waits before stepping in.
   • Has there been a new era of provincial partnership with the federal government?
   • The country's government is now keen to attract western investment into other sectors.
   • But, as of midnight tomorrow, government funding for that contract will stop.
   • I attended law school and worked as an attorney for a state government agency for 10 years.
   • In truth the problems facing the American and British governments are of their own making.
   • We are of the view that governments are there to serve the needs of the people and maximise the benefits for all.
   • They have never had much faith in governments and have always believed in direct action.
   • He was told that Washington wants a strong central government in the country.
   • At the low point, the US government appealed to foreign nations to contribute to the work.
   • We know that people have worked hard for their money, and that governments must spend it wisely.
   • We have seen successive governments and home secretaries promise to be tough on crime.

   Synonyms

   administration, executive, regime, authority, powers that be, directorate, council, leadership, management
4. 1.4
   another term for political science

2Grammar
The relation between a governed and a governing word.