cabinet minister
12
5.0
- noun
- /ˈkæbɪnɪt ˈmɪnɪstə/
- UK
:
ministro
- Last night, she entertained a cabinet minister, his wife, and daughter.
- former cabinet minister
- policies proposed by cabinet ministers
So all these Liberal cabinet ministers were blocking our reporters on Twitter.
- So all these Liberal cabinet ministers were blocking our reporters on Twitter.
Examples
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Among those attending were a king, eight prime ministers, 20 foreign ministers, and 80 other cabinet ministers and heads of central banks.
Academic text (2011) -
You are supposed to be a Cabinet minister!
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Significantly, 6 of the 31 cabinet ministers were women.
Academic text (2004) -
The cabinet ministers are here to brief you on the trip to Taiwan.
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In all European countries, ministers are cabinet ministers who are the heads of government departments.
Blog text (4) -
The MP, a former Cabinet minister, is raising a fascinating and rarely asked moral question.
Blog text (22) -
I'm a Cabinet minister.
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The Cabinet ministers publicly clashed during the Berlin COP, suggesting contradictory goals for Canadian environmental policies.
Academic text (2005) -
The cabinet minister announced new policies to improve education across the country.
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During the meeting, the cabinet minister emphasized the importance of addressing climate change.
Synonyms
862
3.0
A senior government official who leads a department
5
3.7
A person in the government who leads a department and makes rules about it
How Powerful
- UK
12
5.0
658
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'cabinet' (a group of senior officials) + 'minister' (a high‑ranking government official): a minister who is a member of the cabinet is exactly the combined sense. While 'cabinet' can also mean a piece of furniture, the political sense with 'minister' is common and mirrors constructions in many languages, so a B1 learner aware of the constituent senses will understand it.
Etymology
Cabinet minister may come from an old small private room called a cabinet, where a ruler met his closest helpers. A cabinet minister was one of those top helpers who met together, so today the phrase means 'a senior government official who is a member of the cabinet and leads a department'.