Noun: republic ri'pú-blik
- A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
"The United States is a federal republic composed of 50 states";
- commonwealth
- A form of government whose head of state is not a monarch
"the head of state in a republic is usually a president"
Derived forms: republics
Type of: form of government, political system
Encyclopedia: Republic, Pennsylvania