Merriam-Webster Logo
  • Dictionary
  • Thesaurus
  • Medical
  • Scrabble
  • Spanish Central
  • Learner's Dictionary


noun de·moc·ra·cy \di-ˈmä-krə-sē\

Simple Definition of democracy

  • : a form of government in which people choose leaders by voting

  • : a country ruled by democracy

  • : an organization or situation in which everyone is treated equally and has equal rights

Full Definition of democracy

plural de·moc·ra·cies


  2. 2 :  a political unit that has a democratic government

  3. 3 capitalized :  the principles and policies of the Democratic party in the United States <from emancipation Republicanism to New Deal Democracy — C. M. Roberts>

  4. 4 :  the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority

  5. 5 :  the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges

Examples of democracy

  1. Democracy, I would repeat, is the noblest form of government we have yet evolved … —Norman Mailer, New York Review of Books, 27 Mar. 2002

  2. … this and the economic failures of faithful democracies in places such as India or the Anglophone Caribbean demonstrated conclusively that there was no inherent link between freedom and capitalism … —Orlando Patterson, New Republic, 8 Nov. 1999

  3. Even in democracies today, crucial knowledge is available to only a few individuals … —Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel, 1997

  4. The nation has chosen democracy over monarchy.

  5. In a democracy, every citizen should have the right to vote.

  6. The company is not a democracy; decisions are made by a board of directors, not the workers.

  7. There is democracy within the company.

Origin of democracy

Middle French democratie, from Late Latin democratia, from Greek dēmokratia, from dēmos + -kratia -cracy

First Known Use: 1576

DEMOCRACY Defined for Kids


noun de·moc·ra·cy \di-ˈmä-krə-sē\

Definition of democracy

plural de·moc·ra·cies

  1. 1 :  government by the people :  majority rule

  2. 2 :  government in which the highest power is held by the people and is usually used through representatives

  3. 3 :  a political unit (as a nation) governed by the people

  4. 4 :  belief in or practice of the idea that all people are socially equal

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up democracy? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).


February 7, 2016

a slight offense

Get Word of the Day daily email!


Take a 3-minute break and test your skills!



kittly-benders pince-nez spindrift duvet
Name That Thing


