(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
If you refer to a government or system of running a country as a ~, you are critical of it because you think it is not democratic and uses unacceptable methods.
...the collapse of the Fascist ~ at the end of the war...
N-COUNT: oft supp N disapproval
2.
A ~ is the way that something such as an institution, company, or economy is run, especially when it involves tough or severe action.
The authorities moved him to the less rigid ~ of an open prison.
N-COUNT
3.
A ~ is a set of rules about food, exercise, or beauty that some people follow in order to stay healthy or attractive.
He has a new fitness ~ to strengthen his back.
N-COUNT: oft supp N