[gov.ern.ment] n, often attrib (14c) 1: the act or process of governing; specif: authoritative direction or control
2. obs: moral conduct or behavior: discretion 3 a: the office, authority, or function of governing b obs: the term during which a governing official holds office
4: the continuous exercise of authority over and the performance of functions for a political unit: rule
5. a: the organization, machinery, or agency through which a political unit exercises authority and performs functions and which is usu. classified according to the distribution of power within it b: the complex of political institutions, laws, and customs through which the function of governing is carried out
6: the body of persons that constitutes the governing authority of a political unit or organization: as a: the officials comprising the governing body of a political unit and constituting the organization as an active agency b cap: the executive branch of the U.S. federal government c cap: a small group of persons holding simultaneously the principal political executive offices of a nation or other political unit and being responsible for the direction and supervision of public affairs: (1): such a group in a parliamentary system constituted by the cabinet or by the ministry (2): administration 4b 7: political science -- gov.ern.men.tal adj -- gov.ern.men.tal.ize vt -- gov.ern.men.tal.ly adv