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NGO

NGO

50 3.7
A group not part of any government that helps people or protects the environment
  • noun
  • /ˌɛn dʒiˈoʊ/
translation icon : ONG
  • The NGO focuses on improving access to education in rural communities.
  • nongovernmental NGOs
  • feminist NGOs
  • NGO movement

We give it to the NGOs, so they help people.

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Examples

  • My sister volunteers at an NGO that provides meals to the homeless.

  • All the independent women's movement NGOs depend to some degree on foreign funds.

    Academic text (1999)
  • In practice, the agency is almost always a national NGO in the developing country.

    Academic text (1990)
  • I used to help run an NGO.

  • Some succeed in incorporating the women whom they serve into the NGO and thus the movement itself.

    Academic text (1999)
  • I work for an NGO that represents undocumented aliens.

  • We found her here in the highlands of Guatemala working for an environmental NGO.

  • For example, the law requires that NGOs first obtain permission to open branches.

    Academic text (1999)
  • The economic crisis of the 1980s also encouraged the growth of NGOs that sought solutions to worsening poverty.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Many NGOs are working together to address climate change in developing countries.

Synonyms

nonprofit
vsNGO
  • US
133 3.5

An organization that does not try to make money and helps people or the community

emphasizes independence from government more than the profit issue
27 3.0

A group that helps people or the community without trying to make money

stresses independence from government rather than aiming to avoid profit
16 3.4

An organization that does not aim to make money and helps the community

highlights independence from government rather than avoiding profit

A group that works without government to help people in need

is defined by independence from government rather than by profit purpose

Compounds

quasi-NGO
  • Jargon
8.0

An organization funded by the government but working independently like an NGO

How Big

NGO
50 3.7
community
2.8

Surface Forms

NGO singular
NGOs plural

Morphology

NGO = N + G + O

This is an initialism formed from letters; the component letters have no lexical meaning, so learners cannot derive the meaning from the parts.

Etymology

NGO is short for the phrase non- 'not', governmental 'related to government', and organization 'a group that works together'. So an NGO is a group that works 'not with' the government and often acts independently to help people, the environment, or other causes.