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

Those moves include a freezing of civil rights litigation, petitioning to stop environmental and student debt cases and reassigning and removing senior officials. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 27 Jan. 2025

For Kansas City activists and lawmakers, the push signals a significant step backwards in the fight over civil rights. —Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 27 Jan. 2025

These come a week after Trump signed a flurry of executive orders that shuttered DEI offices in all executive branch agencies and also rolled back historic civil rights actions seeking to end discriminatory hiring practices and creating equal employment opportunities. —Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY, 27 Jan. 2025

Earlier this month, Alec Baldwin filed a civil rights suit against the district attorney and other officials in Santa Fe, N.M., alleging that he was wrongfully prosecuted for manslaughter in the accidental shooting of Hutchins. —Michael Schneider, Variety, 27 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see civil

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined above

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