civil rights

plural noun

: rights that citizens are guaranteed by their government through legislation or other government action to ensure equal opportunities (as for employment, education, housing, or voting) and equal protection under the law regardless of personal characteristics such as race, religion, or sex

especially : the rights of personal liberty guaranteed to U.S. citizens by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution and by acts of Congress

Note: The 13th Amendment (ratified 1865) abolished slavery and the 14th Amendment (ratified 1868) granted citizenship and equal rights to all people born or naturalized in the U.S., including formerly enslaved people and African Americans generally. The 15th Amendment (ratified 1870) guaranteed the right to vote regardless of color or former enslavement.

compare civil liberty see also civil rights movement

Examples of civil rights in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The killing drew national attention, and prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump visited with Belt-Stubblefield’s widow and condemned the fatal shooting. — Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 3 Aug. 2026

In April 2026, using the citizen suit provision of the Clean Air Act, the NAACP, a nationwide civil rights organization, sued xAI, an artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk, in federal court. — Sarah J. Morath, The Conversation, 3 Aug. 2026

Bastian later became known for LGBTQ+ philanthropy and civil rights advocacy. — David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 3 Aug. 2026

While the violent mobs who hurled stones at marchers in 1966 are long gone, civil rights advocates say their demands remained strikingly familiar and that the threat to democracy has not disappeared. — Lila Hempel-Edgers, Chicago Tribune, 1 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

see civil

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for civil rights

• acolytes
• ammonites
• amorites
• analytes
• andesites
• appetites
• argillites
• astrocytes
• belemnites
• bryophytes
• canaanites
• carmelites

Kids Definition

civil rights

plural noun

: the nonpolitical rights of a citizen

especially : the rights of personal liberty guaranteed to U.S. citizens by the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution and by acts of Congress