n
a person or organization that exists to protect people’s rights and to check on the behaviour of others, especially that of big companies and institutions. In Britain the word is often used of organizations set up by the government to make sure that the actions of former public companies and institutions which became privately owned in the 1980s and 1990s are both legal and fair. Such organizations include the National Lottery Commission, Ofgem , Ofcom and Ofwat .