oligarchy.
A government run by and for only a few, often the aristocracy, the wealthy, or their friends and associates.
Meaning & usage
A government run by and for only a few, often the aristocracy, the wealthy, or their friends and associates.
Despite the involvement of all classes of society, America's political duopoly and the importance of money to mass-market campaigning has established an oligarchy that is seldom responsive to the citizenry as a whole, when opposed to the wealthy or major interest groups.
A state ruled by such a government.
The 1832 Reform Act aimed to transform the British oligarchy and allow Parliament to represent the interests of a broader range of the population.
Those who make up an oligarchic government.
The modern British oligarchy—particularly during periods of Tory rule—has been called a chumocracy.
Where this word comes from
Borrowed from French oligarchie, from Late Latin oligarchia, from Ancient Greek ὀλιγαρχία (oligarkhía), from ὀλίγος (olígos, “few”) + ἀρχή (arkhḗ, “rule”). By surface analysis, oligo- (“few”) + -archy (“rule, command”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.