big government

noun

variants or Big Government

chiefly US

: government that is regarded as infringing upon the rights of individual citizens because of its extensive bureaucracy and intrusive regulations and policies

Big government, in the minds of many Americans, had become the problem, not the solution.

—Tom Morganthau

Especially coming from a Republican, the Hyde proposals smack uncharacteristically of Big Government, critics say.

—John Cloud

Examples of big government in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Where big business or big labor team up with big government, freedom is sure to come under attack. —Dominic Pino, National Review, 19 Mar. 2024

Roosevelt’s critics pointed out that big government, of the sort FDR championed, could never be financed solely by the rich; wealthy Americans didn’t have enough money to foot the bill. —Joseph Thorndike, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1925, in the meaning defined above