Republic

UK: /rɪˈpʌblɪk/ US: /rɪˈpʌblɪk/ ,(ri pub′lik)

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

re•pub•lic /rɪˈpʌblɪk/   n. [countable]

1. Government a state which is governed by representatives who are chosen by citizens in elections.
2. Government a state in which the head of government is not a monarch and is usually an elected president.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

re•pub•lic  (ri pub′lik), n. 

1. Government a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.
2. any body of persons viewed as a commonwealth.
3. Government a state in which the head of government is not a monarch or other hereditary head of state.
4. World History (cap.) any of the five periods of republican government in France. Cf. First Republic, Second Republic, Third Republic, Fourth Republic, Fifth Republic. 
5. Philosophy (cap., italics.) a philosophical dialogue (4th centuryb.c.) by Plato dealing with the composition and structure of the ideal state.

• Latin rēs pūblica, equivalent. to rēs thing, entity + pūblica public
• French république, Middle French
• 1595–1605

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

republic / rɪˈpʌblɪk/ noun

1. a form of government in which the people or their elected representatives possess the supreme power
2. a political or national unit possessing such a form of government
3. a constitutional form in which the head of state is an elected or nominated president
4. any community or group that resembles a political republic in that its members or elements exhibit a general equality, shared interests, etc: the republic of letters

Etymology: 17th Century: from French république, from Latin rēspublica literally: the public thing, from rēs thing + publica public