What does “politics” mean?
- 1
nounthe activities and ideas connected with governing a country or area
She wants a career in politics.
- 2
nouna person’s political opinions
We never discuss politics at dinner.
- 3
nounthe way people use power and relationships to get advantages in a group
Office politics can be exhausting.
Politics at a glance
- Part of speech
- noun
- CEFR level
- B1 (intermediate)
- Pronunciation
- /ˈpɑlətɪks/ · PAHL-uh-tiks
How to use “politics” correctly
“Politics” ends in -s but usually takes a singular verb: “Politics is complicated.” The stress is on the first syllable: PAHL-uh-tiks.
Common phrases with “politics”
- local politics
- office politics
- go into politics
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Word family
- political
- politician
- politically
“politics” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- agreement nounB1an arrangement or promise between people, groups or countries
- campaign nounB1a planned set of activities to achieve a goal, such as winning an election
- candidate nounB1a person who is trying to be chosen for a job or elected to a position
- citizen nounB1a person who legally belongs to a country and has rights there
- community nounB1the people who live in one area
- court nounB1the place where a judge decides legal cases, or the judge and officials themselves
- debate nounB1a discussion in which people give different opinions on a subject
- defense nounB1the act of protecting someone or something from attack