a form of government in which the supreme power is exercised by the people, usu directly or indirectly through a system of representation usu involving free elections
a state governed in this way
Democracy is government conducted by representatives freely and periodically elected by adult citizens. Neither voters nor candidates may be disqualified by reference to status, race, or political party: votes (usually by secret ballot) must be cast without intimidation and counted under objective scrutiny. A right to democracy may slowly be emerging in international law: Churchill's opinion, that democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others, is widely shared — Geoffrey Robertson
the absence of class distinctions or privileges in a society
control of a group by its own members or the will of a majority of them
[via French and Latinfrom Greek dēmokratia, from dēmos people + -kratia -cracy]