government man
5
4.4
- noun
- /ˈɡʌvərnmənt mæn/
- Before I go to bed, I'll call the government man and ask him to come out and take a look at her.
Examples
-
The residents were surprised when a government man knocked on their door to discuss the upcoming election.
-
The government man wants you to know something, he'll call you or send you a telegram.
-
There's a government man here to talk to you.
-
That government man with the letter about you bein' dead?
-
Well, I'm indicatin' it to you, government man.
-
Val, I was so scared when that damned old government man brought them papers that told us you was dead.
-
He's a government man.
-
The government man explained the new policy changes to the community during a town hall meeting.
-
A government man arrived at the school to talk about the importance of civic engagement.
Synonyms
∞
2.9
A person who works in government or politics, often as an elected leader
530
5.1
A person who manages a government department or public service
517
3.5
A person who speaks or acts for other people in an official way
135
3.2
A person elected or appointed to carry out government work
121
3.0
A person who holds public office after winning an election
115
3.5
A person who works for the country's government to enforce laws and investigate crimes
107
5.6
A person who works in a government office and often cares more about rules than people
99
4.7
A man who is on a town or city council
59
3.7
A government worker who makes sure people follow national laws, often in the United States
45
3.0
A person who works for the government, elected or appointed
37
6.5
A man who works to enforce the law, like a sheriff or police officer
35
6.8
A senior official who helps the head of a government department make decisions
34
2.7
A person who works for a government department in a long-term job and is not elected
22
3.7
A person who works for the government and acts for it
15
3.6
A person who takes money from people to pay taxes to the government
8
3.7
A person in the government who leads a department and makes rules about it
8
7.7
A person who has an official job in a government or large organization
6
4.4
A person who has an official job with power and responsibility in a government or organization
4
3.1
A government worker who collects taxes from people and businesses
4
9.9
A person who holds a public office for a fixed time, for example in government
3
4.2
A diplomat who represents one country to another and ranks below an ambassador
1
9.9
An old word for a senior official who a country sends to represent it in another country
1
7.2
A person who a government or organization sends to speak for it at official meetings
1
6.5
A government official who represents their country in another country and ranks below an ambassador
1
9.9
A person who gets a job because of connections rather than skill
A person or group allowed to act for someone else in legal matters
A temporary government official who is not a permanent staff member
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a person employed by or representing the government' is directly and transparently composed from 'government' (state authority) + 'man' (person). The agentive pattern 'X man' (a person associated with X) is common and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Government man began as a simple picture of a government man — someone sent by the government to do official work in a town or office. Because these men enforced rules or supervised projects for the authorities, the phrase came to mean 'a person employed by the government or acting as its representative'.