re·pub·lic (r?-p?b?l?k)n.1. a. A political order whose head of state is not a monarch and in modern times is usually a president.b. A nation that has such a political order.2. a. A political order in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who are entitled to vote for officers and representatives responsible to them.b. A nation that has such a political order.3. often Republic A specific republican government of a nation: the Fourth Republic of France.4. An autonomous or partially autonomous political and territorial unit belonging to a sovereign federation.5. A group of people working as equals in the same sphere or field: the republic of letters.[French république, from Old French, from Latin r?sp?blica : r?s, thing; see r?- in Indo-European roots + p?blica, feminine of p?blicus, of the people; see public.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.republic (r??p?bl?k) n1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a form of government in which the people or their elected representatives possess the supreme power2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a political or national unit possessing such a form of government3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a constitutional form in which the head of state is an elected or nominated president4. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) any community or group that resembles a political republic in that its members or elements exhibit a general equality, shared interests, etc: the republic of letters. [C17: from French république, from Latin r?spublica literally: the public thing, from r?s thing + publica public]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014re?pub?lic (r??p?b l?k) n. 1. a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them. 2. a state in which the head of government is not a monarch and is usu. an elected or nominated president. 3. the form of government of such a state. 4. any body of persons viewed as a commonwealth. [1595?1605;