Definition of "government"

government

/ˈɡʌvə(n)mənt/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural governments
1. The body with the power to make and/or enforce laws to control a country, land area, people or organization.
  Quotations
  […] and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
  1863 November 19, Abraham Lincoln, Dedicatory Remarks (Gettysburg Address)‎, near Soldiers' National Cemetery, Bancroft copy, page 2
  Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.
  2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68
2. (grammar, linguistics) The relationship between a word and its dependents.
3. The state and its administration viewed as the ruling political power.
  Quotations
  Risk is everywhere. From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins.
  2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 76
4. (uncountable) The management or control of a system.
  Quotations
  The government of the Church is maintained without material alteration in a settled hierarchical form.
  1908, Walter Frederic Adeney, The Greek and Eastern churches, page 275
  Whereas it is expedient to amend the law relating to the government of Her Majesty's Navy, whereon, under the good Providence of God, the wealth, safety and strength of the Kingdom so much depend:
  1957, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Preamble”, in Naval Discipline Act 1957‎, page 14
5. The tenure of a chief of state.