Search Result for "oligarchy": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (1)

1. a political system governed by a few people;
- Example: "one of his cardinal convictions was that Britain was not run as a democracy but as an oligarchy"
- Example: "the big cities were notoriously in the hands of the oligarchy of local businessmen"



The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Oligarchy \Ol"i*gar"chy\, n.; pl. Oligarchies. [Gr. ?;
   'oli`gos few, little + 'a`rchein to rule, govern: cf. F.
   oligarchie.]
   A form of government in which the supreme power is placed in
   the hands of a few persons; also, those who form the ruling
   few.
   [1913 Webster]

         All oligarchies, wherein a few men domineer, do what
         they list.                               --Burton.
   [1913 Webster]


WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

oligarchy
    n 1: a political system governed by a few people; "one of his
         cardinal convictions was that Britain was not run as a
         democracy but as an oligarchy"; "the big cities were
         notoriously in the hands of the oligarchy of local
         businessmen"