government

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1. countableuncountableThe body with the power to make and/or enforce laws to control a country, land area, people or organization.

   British government has historically centred exclusively on London.

   2 more examples

   […]and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

   1863 November 19, Abraham Lincoln, Dedicatory Remarks (Gettysburg Address)^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address_(Bancroft_draft)), near Soldiers' National Cemetery, →LCCN, Bancroft copy, page 2

   Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.

   2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, archived from the original on 16 Aug 2013, page 68

2. countableuncountablegrammarThe relationship between a word and its dependents.

   Synonyms: regimen, rection

3. countableuncountableThe state and its administration viewed as the ruling political power.

   Near-synonyms: state, administration

   3 more examples

   If the citizens must follow the law, then the government must follow the constitution.

   Risk is everywhere. From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins.

   2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, archived from the original on 10 Aug 2013, page 76

   The information above, largely relevant to the UK and the US, is available globally online, but country-specific organizations such as government departments for health, education and children and young people; psychological associations; and parent and teenager helplines can be found through searching online.

   2019, Kairen Cullen, The Psychology of Parenting Teenagers, page 226

   Synonyms: state, administration, administration, governance, management, statism

4. uncountableThe management or control of a system.

   The government of the Church is maintained without material alteration in a settled hierarchical form.

   1908, Walter Frederic Adeney, The Greek and Eastern churches, page 275

   2 more examples

   Whereas it is expedient to amend the law relating to the government of Her Majesty's Navy, whereon, under the good Providence of God, the wealth, safety and strength of the Kingdom so much depend:

   1957, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Preamble”, in Naval Discipline Act 1957, archived from the original on 18 Feb 2021, page 14

   Ainsi, dans une société donnée, l’autorité de l’homme sur l’homme est en raison inverse du développement intellectuel auquel cette société est parvenue, et la durée probable de cette autorité peut être calculée sur le désir plus ou moins général d’un gouvernement vrai, c’est-à-dire, d’un gouvernement selon la science.

   1849 [1840], Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, “Chapitre V. Second Partie. § 2.”, in Qu’est ce que la propriété?, page 242; English translation from “Chapter V. Part Second. § 2.”, in Benjamin Tucker, transl., What Is Property?, translation of original in French, 1876, page 277

5. countableuncountableThe tenure of a head of government; the ministry or administration led by a specified individual.

   The Sunak government announced plans to stem the flow of migrants coming into Great Britain.

6. countableuncountableIn a parliamentary system, the political party or coalition in power; its condition of being in power.
7. countableuncountabledebatingThe team tasked with presenting and speaking in favour of a resolution, as opposed to the opposition.
8. countableuncountableA guberniya.

   with its centre in Liubawitz, in the Government of Mohilev.

   1929, Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, Jewish Music: Its Historical Development, page 418

9. abbreviationcountableellipsisuncountableEllipsis of government name, one's legal name according to a government.