English Dictionary

Define dictionary terms easily in our powerful online English dictionary.

Searching for...

No matching words found

Try a different search term or browse the dictionary

Definition government in British English

government noun

noun
/ˈɡʌvə(r)nmənt/

In British English, government can be used with a singular or plural verb. You can say The government is unpopular or The government are unpopular.

1

the people who control a country, region, or town and make decisions about its laws and taxes: followed by a singular or plural verb

Example

The government has announced plans to raise the minimum wage next year.

Example

a democratically elected government

Example

Under the Conservative government things were very different.

Synonyms and related words
1.1

the members of the main political party in a parliament, or the members of the cabinet (=the group of politicians with the most important jobs) in a system with a parliament

Example

The party with an overall majority is then asked to form a government.

Example

The Social Democrat Party is threatening to leave the coalition government.

Synonyms and related words
1.2

relating to a government, especially a national government

Example

government employees

Synonyms and related words
Example

I'm not sure these reforms will necessarily lead to more effective government.

Synonyms and related words
Definition government in British English