| English Dictionary |
SPOILS SYSTEM
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does spoils system mean?
• SPOILS SYSTEM (noun)
The noun SPOILS SYSTEM has 1 sense:
1. the system of employing and promoting civil servants who are friends and supporters of the group in power
Familiarity information: SPOILS SYSTEM used as a noun is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
The system of employing and promoting civil servants who are friends and supporters of the group in power
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("spoils system" is a kind of...):
system; system of rules (a complex of methods or rules governing behavior)
Antonym:
merit system (the system of employing and promoting civil servants on the basis of ability)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
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"We are all related." (Native American proverb, Lakota)
"Not everyone who chased the Zebra, caught it, but he who caught it, chased it." (Southern Africa proverb)
"Using a cannon to shoot a mosquito." (Dutch proverb)