state capture

noun

A type of systemic political corruption in which a small number of private businesses influence government policy to their own advantage.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounstate capture (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA type of systemic political corruption in which a small number of private businesses influence government policy to their own advantage.

    Among his more notable and criticized decisions was declining to charge officials linked to allegations of state capture by the Guptas, an Indian business family with close ties to Mr. Zuma.

    2018 August 13, Kimon de Greef, “Ouster of Zuma Loyalist Bolsters South Africa’s Corruption Fight”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Cite this entry
APA

state capture. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/state%20capture

MLA

“state capture.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/state%20capture. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “state capture,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/state%20capture.

Source: state capture on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.