backbencher
noun
an ordinary member of the British Parliament who does not have a senior position
Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word
noun
someone who gets involved in politics in a place away from where they live, because they think they will be more successful there
noun
someone who is a member of the US congress, especially the House of Representatives
noun
a woman who is a member of the US congress, especially of the House of Representatives
noun
a member of the house of lords (=part of the British parliament) who does not belong to any particular political party
noun
someone with a lot of experience in politics or government who is given a lot of respect
noun
a politician or official in the European Union. This word is often used as a criticism to describe officials who have too much influence on the lives and work of people in EU countries.
noun
someone, especially a politician, who thinks that their country should not be part of the European Union
noun
used by a member of a law-making institution when speaking or referring to another member
noun
a junior politician or official who does boring work for a political party and is not respected
noun
someone who people have elected to represent them in a parliament. Members of Parliament are usually called MPs
noun
Member of the European Parliament: a politician who represents one of the regions of a country in the European Union
noun
Member of Parliament: someone who has been elected to represent people from a particular district in a parliament
noun
Member of the Scottish Parliament: someone who has been elected to represent people from a particular district in the Scottish Parliament
noun
a senior civil servant (=government official who is not elected) who influences government decisions by clever indirect methods
noun
someone whose job is to give journalists information that makes a politician or an organization seem as good as possible
noun
an official in a political party whose job is to make certain that other members go where they are needed and that they vote in the correct way
adjective
adjective
noun
a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence
BuzzWord ArticleOpen Dictionary
a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons
add a wordMore submissions
view entriesBlog
A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.
global English and language change from our blog