Commonwealth definition

kŏmən-wĕlth
A nation or state governed by the people; a republic.
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The Commonwealth of Nations.
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The people of a nation or state; the body politic.
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The English state and government from the death of Charles I in 1649 to the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, including the Protectorate of 1653 to 1659.
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A state or country where sovereignty is vested in the people.
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The people of a nation or state; body politic.
noun
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A group of people united by common interests.
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(obs.) The general welfare; commonweal.
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A nation or state in which there is self-government; democracy or republic.
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A federation of states [the Commonwealth of Australia]
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(loosely) Any state of the U.S.
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(officially) Ky., Mass., Pa., or Va., which were so designated in their first constitutions.
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The people of a state or country.
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A form of government, named for the concept that everything that is not owned by specific individuals or groups is owned collectively by everyone in the governmental unit, as opposed to a state, where the state itself owns such things.
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Approximately, a republic.

May 19, 1649 Be it declared and enacted by this present Parliament and by the Authoritie of the same That the People of England and of all the Dominions and Territoryes thereunto belonging are and shall be and are hereby constituted, made, established, and confirmed to be a Commonwealth and free State And shall from henceforth be Governed as a Commonwealth and Free State by the supreame Authoritie of this Nation, the Representatives of the People in Parliam[ent] and by such as they shall appoint and constitute as Officers and Ministers under them for the good of the People and that without any King or House of Lords. Act of the Long Parliament.

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The Commonwealth of Nations, a loose confederation of nations based around the former British Empire.

Mozambique joined the Commonwealth in 1995, although it had not been a part of the British Empire.

As a Commonwealth citizen, you are eligible to vote in United Kingdom elections.

pronoun
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(Australia) Australia, the Commonwealth of Australia, often referring to its federal government.

Mr. Martin was found guilty of defrauding the Commonwealth by making false welfare claims.

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(in Kentucky) Kentucky, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, often referring to its government.
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(in Massachusetts) Massachusetts, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, often referring to its government.
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(in Pennsylvania) Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, often referring to its government.
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(in Virginia) Virginia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, often referring to its government.
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The definition of a commonwealth is an independent country, community or state within a republic, including some states of the U.S.

Pennsylvania is an example of a commonwealth.

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(archaic) The public good; commonweal.
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Used to refer to some US states, namely, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
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Used to refer to a self-governing, autonomous political unit voluntarily associated with the United States, namely, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands.
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the Commonwealth
  • the government in England under the Cromwells and Parliament from 1649 to 1660
  • association of independent nations, mostly former components of the British Empire, united for purposes of consultation and mutual assistance: all members acknowledge the British sovereign as symbolic head of the association
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Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
commonwealth
Plural:
commonwealths

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

the Commonwealth

Origin of commonwealth

  • From 15th century, common (“public”) +‎ wealth (“well-being”). Expanded in the 17th century to mean "a state in which the supreme power is vested in the people; a republic or democratic state."

    From Wiktionary

Commonwealth Sentence Examples

  • The history of the Roman commonwealth illustrates this perhaps better than any other.'

  • The constitution of the commonwealth had slowly matured itself through a series of revolutions, which confirmed and defined a type of singular stability.

  • It is only in a commonwealth that a nobility can really rule; that is, it is only in a commonwealth that the nobility can really be an aristocracy.

  • But in the Venetian commonwealth the nobility was a real aristocracy.

  • All Boehme's works were translated into English in the time of the Commonwealth, and regular societies of Boehmenists were formed in England and Holland.

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Words near commonwealth in the Dictionary