politics
Pluralpolitics
- 1The methods and activities involved in running a government, an organization, or a movement.
The politics of a city council involve budgets, votes, and public hearings.
He wrote a book about the politics of grassroots movements.
UsageOften the politics of something. With a and an adjective it names one approach: a feminist politics.
Note
The word was formed from the adjective politic, on the model of Aristotle's plural tá polītiká, "affairs of state." Jan Jindy Pettman's Worlding Women (1996) writes of "a feminist politics," one approach set against rival ones.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Politics was formed from politic by analogy with Aristotle’s plural tá polītiká, meaning affairs of state. en.wiktionary.org
- Jan Jindy Pettman wrote Worlding Women, first published in 1996. api.pageplace.de
- Worlding Women contains the exact phrase a feminist politics. api.pageplace.de
- 2Maneuvering and diplomacy between people, groups, or organizations, especially over power, standing, influence, or conflict.
The merger collapsed under the politics between the two boards.
He navigated the politics of the department without making enemies.
UsageCommon in office politics and the politics of a department; it suggests jockeying more than governing.
Similarinfighting, maneuvering, machinations, jockeying
Note
Here the word turns faintly pejorative: politics as jockeying rather than governing. In George Lucas's Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Senator Palpatine sets it against the common good, describing a Senate full of "greedy, squabbling delegates." Compare the business of governing. That sense runs things, while this one is the squabbling over who gets to.
- 3The profession or career of conducting public and governmental affairs.
After two terms in office, she retired from politics altogether.
He always said politics was a calling, not a paycheck.
UsageNo article: go into politics, retire from politics. Usually takes a singular verb: politics is a calling.
Similargovernment
- 4The political positions and opinions that a particular person holds.
My grandfather's politics shifted to the left after he retired from the factory.
Her politics put her at odds with most of her coworkers.
UsageUsually takes a plural verb: her politics are progressive.
Similarviews, beliefs, opinions, ideology, convictions
- 5Real-world political beliefs and social issues, regarded as out of place in the subject under discussion.
Moderators warned players to leave politics off the gaming forum.
Reviewers griped that the sequel dragged politics into a simple adventure plot.
UsageOften leave politics out of something or drag politics into it.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of politics apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
Aristotle's Greek phrase τά πολῑτῐκά (tá polītiká), meaning "affairs of state," served as the model when the adjective politic was turned into this noun.