- a form of government in which the people or their elected representatives possess the supreme power
- a political or national unit possessing such a form of government
- a constitutional form in which the head of state is an elected or nominated president
- any community or group that resembles a political republic in that its members or elements exhibit a general equality, shared interests, etc: the republic of letters
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
re•pub•lic /rɪˈpʌblɪk/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Governmenta state which is governed by representatives who are chosen by citizens in elections.
- Governmenta state in which the head of government is not a monarch and is usually an elected president.
re•pub•lic
(ri pub′lik),USA pronunciation n.
- Governmenta state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.
- any body of persons viewed as a commonwealth.
- Governmenta state in which the head of government is not a monarch or other hereditary head of state.
- World History(cap.) any of the five periods of republican government in France. Cf. First Republic, Second Republic, Third Republic, Fourth Republic, Fifth Republic.
- Philosophy(cap., italics.) a philosophical dialogue (4th centuryb.c.) by Plato dealing with the composition and structure of the ideal state.
- Latin rēs pūblica, equivalent. to rēs thing, entity + pūblica public
- French république, Middle French
- 1595–1605
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
republic /rɪˈpʌblɪk/ n
'republic' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Aarau
- Abakan
- Abbas
- Abkhazia
- Achill Island
- Adams
- Adygei Republic
- Adzhar Autonomous Republic
- Afghanistan
- Afrikaans
- Afrikaner
- Ahern
- Alania
- Albania
- Albert
- Alfonso XIII
- Algeria
- Altai Republic
- Angola
- Aran Islands
- Argentina
- Armenia
- ASSR
- Atatürk
- Athos
- Auriol
- Austerlitz
- Austria
- Azaña
- Azerbaijan
- Baguio
- Balaguer
- Banaba
- banana republic
- Bangladesh
- Bangui
- Bashkir Republic
- Batum
- Beijing
- Beira
- Belarus
- Belau
- Benin
- Beslan
- Biafra
- Bohemia
- Bohemian Forest
- Bokassa I
- Bolivia
- Boma