Meaning & use
government
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
The people or body that holds the power to make decisions and run a country, state or region.
Grammar: In British English it can take a plural verb (the government are), but in American English it usually takes a singular verb.
Patterns
- the government of somewhere
- government of the people
The government announced a new plan to reduce pollution.
Several governments have signed the treaty.
The state government controls the funding for local roads.
noununcountable
The way a country or group is ruled, or the process of ruling it.
Grammar: Uncountable when it means the system or activity of ruling: democratic government.
Patterns
- a form of government
Democracy is one form of government.
Good government depends on honest officials.
She studied local government at university.
noununcountableformalold-fashioned
The control and direction of an organization, area or activity.
Grammar: A formal, somewhat old-fashioned sense that rarely takes an article.
The charter set out rules for the government of the college.
He learned the government of a large estate.
The government of such an institution needs patience.
Word forms
| plural | governments |
|---|
Common combinations
- local government
- Local government handles garbage collection.
- federal government
- The federal government sets national tax rules.
- form a government
- The party failed to form a government after the vote.
- government spending
- Government spending rose during the crisis.
- overthrow a government
- The army tried to overthrow the government.
- in government
- She spent ten years in government before retiring.
Synonyms and how they differ
- administration
- Administration usually means the officials in office at a given time, especially in the United States.
- regime
- Regime often suggests an authoritarian or unpopular government and can sound critical.
- state
- The state is the whole political system and its institutions, wider than the people currently in charge.
- authorities
- The authorities refers to officials who enforce rules, not the governing body as a whole.
Opposites
Word family
- govern verb
- to rule or control a place
- governmental adjective
- relating to the government
- governor noun
- an official who leads a state or region
- governance noun
- the way something is managed
- ungovernable adjective
- impossible to control
Commonly confused: government or governance?
government vs governance
Governance means how an organization is managed, while a government is the body that rules.
Practice
After the election, the new ___ promised to lower taxes.
Choose one answer.
A government is the body that runs a country. A governor leads a state or region, and governance means the way things are run.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “government”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.