POLICY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does policy mean? 

• POLICY (noun)
  The noun POLICY has 3 senses:

1. a plan of action adopted by an individual or social group

2. a line of argument rationalizing the course of action of a government

3. written contract or certificate of insurance

  Familiarity information: POLICY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• POLICY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A plan of action adopted by an individual or social group

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

a politician keeps changing his policies

Hypernyms ("policy" is a kind of...):

plan of action (a plan for actively doing something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "policy"):

beggar-my-neighbor policy; beggar-my-neighbor strategy; beggar-my-neighbour policy; beggar-my-neighbour strategy (a policy of promoting oneself at the expense of others; used especially of national policy)

centralism (the political policy of concentrating power in a central organization)

containment (a policy of creating strategic alliances in order to check the expansion of a hostile power or ideology or to force it to negotiate peacefully)

moderationism (the policy of being moderate or acting with moderation)

obscurantism (a policy of opposition to enlightenment or the spread of knowledge)

Thatcherism ((England) the political policy of Margaret Thatcher)

ultramontanism ((Roman Catholic Church) the policy that the absolute authority of the church should be vested in the pope)

activism (a policy of taking direct action to achieve a political or social goal)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A line of argument rationalizing the course of action of a government

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

they debated the policy or impolicy of the proposed legislation

Hypernyms ("policy" is a kind of...):

argument; argumentation; line; line of reasoning; logical argument (a course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating a truth or falsehood; the methodical process of logical reasoning)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "policy"):

clericalism (a policy of supporting the influence and power of the clergy in secular or political matters)

plank (an endorsed policy in the platform of a political party)

economic policy (a government policy for maintaining economic growth and tax revenues)

social policy (a policy of for dealing with social issues)

party line (the policy of a political group)

foreign policy (a policy governing international relations)

zero-tolerance policy (any policy that allows no exception)

Zionism (a policy for establishing and developing a national homeland for Jews in Palestine)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Written contract or certificate of insurance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

insurance; insurance policy; policy

Context example:

you should have read the small print on your policy

Hypernyms ("policy" is a kind of...):

contract (a binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "policy"):

floater; floating policy (an insurance policy covering loss of movable property (e.g. jewelry) regardless of its location)

 Context examples 

A technically trained person who performs laboratory activities and provides laboratory analysis according to laboratory policies, procedures and protocols.

(Laboratory Technologist, NCI Thesaurus)

The Board's most distinctive contribution, however, will be to render advice to the Nation in the area of policy and make recommendations to advance the Nation's effort against cancer.

(National Cancer Policy Board, NCI Thesaurus)

He was head man of the little village, keenly aware of his responsibility, and he elucidated his policy thoroughly in few words.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Information leading to decisions on the formation of policies pertaining to the health care system.

(Health Policy, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)

Policies, practices and research that ensure the fitness of food for human consumption.

(Food Safety, NCI Thesaurus)

Creating and maintaining successful conservation policy means constantly looking for breakdowns in the system.

(Belly up to the bamboo buffet: Pandas vs. horses, NSF)

In the study, Hicks and her colleagues propose several policy recommendations to address the skewed global availability of fish.

(Fairer fish trade could fix nutrient deficiencies in coastal countries, SciDev.Net)

These guidelines are the standard for clinical policy in oncology.

(National Comprehensive Cancer Network, NCI Thesaurus)

A systematic statement of policy rules or principles.

(Guideline, NCI Thesaurus)

This villain’s policy was to murder, on one pretext or another, every man who showed such promise that he might in time come to be a dangerous rival.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)