ombudsman

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UK/ˈɒmbədzmən/US/ˈɑmbədzmən/Philippines/ʔomˈbʊds.mɐn/Philippines/ˈʔom-/

noun

An appointed official whose duty is to investigate complaints, generally on behalf of individuals such as consumers or taxpayers, against institutions such as companies and government departments.

Less commonScrabble 16

Meanings

nounombudsman (plural ombudsmen)

plural ombudsmen

  1. An appointed official whose duty is to investigate complaints, generally on behalf of individuals such as consumers or taxpayers, against institutions such as companies and government departments.

    "All the Nordic ombudsmen have the same view: that circumcision of boys should not be done until the boy is old enough to decide himself if is something he wants to do,” Anne Lindboe, Norway's Ombudsman for Children, told DW.

    2014 April 30, Lars Bevanger, “Circumcision row”, in DW
    1 more example

    The ombudsman found that youth living at El Pueblo remained under the care and supervision of staff who had been accused of abusing them. In one case, a youth was reportedly dragged across the carpet by two staff members, resulting in rugburns on his face.

    2019 August 13, “A Pueblo center for troubled kids had 243 abuse allegations in the year before it closed”, in The Colorado Sun
  2. A designated internal mediator in an organization whose duty is to assist members with conflict resolution and other problems and to serve as an independent consultant to recommend changes to policies or procedures to improve organization effectiveness, efficiency, and humaneness.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

  1. Old Norseumboðsmaðr
  2. Swedishombudsman
  3. Englishombudsman

Borrowed from Swedish ombudsman (equivalent to ombud (“representative, proxy”) + man), from Old Norse umboðsmaðr.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic أَمِين اَلْمَظَالِم
  • أَمِين اَلْمَظَالِم (ʔamīn al-maẓālim)official who investigates complaints
Bulgarian омбудсман
  • омбудсман (ombudsman)official who investigates complaints
Catalan síndic de greuges, defensor del poble
  • síndic de greugesofficial who investigates complaints
  • defensor del pobleofficial who investigates complaints
Chinese Mandarin 申訴專員 /申诉专员, 調查專員 /调查专员
  • 申訴專員 /申诉专员 (shēnsù zhuānyuán)official who investigates complaints
  • 調查專員 /调查专员 (diàochá zhuānyuán)official who investigates complaints
Czech ombudsman
  • ombudsmanofficial who investigates complaints
Danish ombudsmand
  • ombudsmandofficial who investigates complaints
Dutch ombudsman
  • ombudsmanofficial who investigates complaints
Finnish oikeusasiamies, välimies
  • oikeusasiamiesofficial who investigates complaints
  • välimiesofficial who investigates complaints
French ombudsman, médiateur
  • ombudsmanofficial who investigates complaints
  • médiateurofficial who investigates complaints
  • protecteurofficial who investigates complaints
German Ombudsmann
  • Ombudsmannofficial who investigates complaints
Hindi लोकपाल, लोकायुक्त
  • लोकपाल (lokpāl)official who investigates complaints
  • लोकायुक्त (lokāyukt)official who investigates complaints
Hungarian ombudsman
  • ombudsmanofficial who investigates complaints
Indonesian ombudsman
  • ombudsmanofficial who investigates complaints
Japanese オンブズマン, 苦情調査官
  • オンブズマン (onbuzuman)official who investigates complaints
  • 苦情調査官 (kujō chōsakan)official who investigates complaints
Korean 옴부즈만
  • 옴부즈만 (ombujeuman)official who investigates complaints
Norwegian Bokmål ombudsmann
  • ombudsmannofficial who investigates complaints
Persian دادآور
  • دادآور (dâd-âvar)official who investigates complaints
Polish ombudsman, rzecznik
  • ombudsmanofficial who investigates complaints
  • rzecznikofficial who investigates complaints
Portuguese ombudsman, ouvidor
  • ombudsmanofficial who investigates complaints
  • ouvidorofficial who investigates complaints
Romanian ombudsman
  • ombudsmanofficial who investigates complaints
Russian уполномо́ченный по права́м челове́ка, омбудсме́н
  • уполномо́ченный по права́м челове́ка (upolnomóčennyj po pravám čelovéka)official who investigates complaints
  • омбудсме́н (ombudsmén)official who investigates complaints
  • омбудсма́н (ombudsmán)official who investigates complaints
Spanish mediador, defensor del pueblo
  • mediadorofficial who investigates complaints
  • defensor del puebloofficial who investigates complaints
Swedish ombudsman
  • ombudsmanofficial who investigates complaints
Thai ผู้ตรวจการแผ่นดิน
  • ผู้ตรวจการแผ่นดิน (pûu-dtrùuat-gaan-pɛ̀n-din)official who investigates complaints
Turkish ombudsman, kamu denetçisi
  • ombudsmanofficial who investigates complaints
  • kamu denetçisiofficial who investigates complaints
Ukrainian омбудсме́н, омбудсма́н
  • омбудсме́н (ombudsmén)official who investigates complaints
  • омбудсма́н (ombudsmán)official who investigates complaints
Urdu محتسب
  • محتسب (mohtasib)official who investigates complaints
Welsh ombwdsmon
  • ombwdsmonofficial who investigates complaints
Cite this entry
APA

ombudsman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ombudsman

MLA

“ombudsman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ombudsman. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ombudsman,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ombudsman.

Source: ombudsman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.