meritocracy

noun

mer·​i·​toc·​ra·​cy ˌmer-ə-ˈtä-krə-sē 

plural meritocracies

: a system, organization, or society in which people are chosen and moved into positions of success, power, and influence on the basis of their demonstrated abilities and merit (see merit entry 1 sense 1b)

Only the elite, in that new meritocracy, would enjoy the opportunity for self-fulfillment …

—Robert Penn Warren

Though founded theoretically on principles of meritocracy, the public arena was parceled into spheres of personal influence …

—Mac Margolis

A paradox lies at the heart of this new American meritocracy. Merit has replaced the old system of inherited privilege … . But merit, it turns out, is at least partly class-based. Parents with money, education and connections cultivate in their children the habits that the meritocracy rewards.

—Janny Scott et al.

also : the people who are moved into such positions

a member of the meritocracy

France remains a tightly centralized nation, run by a governmental and business meritocracy carefully prepared for positions of power in elite graduate schools.

—Jim Hoagland

meritocratic

ˌmer-ə-tə-ˈkra-tik 

adjective

Examples of meritocracy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The truth is the digital world is generally considered a meritocracy, a place where those who hustle but ultimately display talent and wit get the lion’s share of the Instagram likes. —Jennifer Fernandez, Architectural Digest, 28 Apr. 2025

President Donald Trump signed multiple Executive Orders relating to education Wednesday afternoon, with several tied to the theme of returning meritocracy back to the education system. —Staff, FOXNews.com, 26 Apr. 2025

The shameful thing about Leicester City deteriorating into a club trapped in purgatory is that the club has been the shining example of English soccer meritocracy for the past decade. —Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025

The short answer is going to be somewhere in the region of £3m. The Premier League prides itself on being a meritocracy and the final sums paid out at the end of every season are shaped, in part, by the successes of each team. —Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

merit entry 1 + -o- + -cracy

Note: The neologism meritocracy was apparently first used in print by the British industrial sociologist Alan Fox (1920-2002) in the article "Class and Equality," Socialist Commentary, May, 1956, pp. 11-13. The word is now closely associated with the book The Rise of the Meritocracy (London: Thames & Hudson, 1958) by the sociologist and politician Michael Young (1915-2002), who is often credited with its coinage.

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for meritocracy

• aristocracy
• autocracy
• bureaucracy
• democracy
• hypocrisy
• plutocracy
• theocracy