Communism

UK: /ˈkɒmjʊnɪzəm/ US: /ˈkɑmjəˌnɪzəm/ ,(kom′yə niz′əm)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

com•mu•nism /ˈkɑmyəˌnɪzəm/   n. [uncountable]

1. Government a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, with ownership by the state.
2. Government [often: Communism] a political doctrine or movement based on Marxism seeking the overthrow of capitalism and the creation of a classless society.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

com•mu•nism  (kom′yə niz′əm), n. 

1. Government a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.
2. Government (often cap.) a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party.
3. Government (cap.) the principles and practices of the Communist party.
4. Government communalism.

• French communisme. See common, -ism
• 1835–45

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

communism / ˈkɒmjʊˌnɪzəm/ noun

1. advocacy of a classless society in which private ownership has been abolished and the means of production and subsistence belong to the community
2. any social, economic, or political movement or doctrine aimed at achieving such a society
3. (usually capital) a political movement based upon the writings of Marx that considers history in terms of class conflict and revolutionary struggle, resulting eventually in the victory of the proletariat and the establishment of a socialist order based on public ownership of the means of production
   See also Marxism, Marxism-Leninism, socialism
4. (usually capital) a social order or system of government established by a ruling Communist Party, esp in the former Soviet Union
5. communal living; communalism

Etymology: 19th Century: from French communisme, from commun common