pressure group

noun

: an interest group organized to influence public and especially government policy but not to elect candidates to office

Examples of pressure group in a Sentence

a pressure group trying to reduce taxes observed that if publishers gave in to every pressure group, nothing would ever get published
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Sheen has long called for tighter regulation of the credit system in the UK, founding pressure group the End High Cost Credit Alliance in 2017. Issy Ronald, CNN, 10 Mar. 2025 In 1940, an anti-war and isolationist pressure group, America First Committee, was launched to oppose the U.S. entering World War II. Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024 In reality, revenue generated by these taxes disappears into the black hole of the general budget and goes to whatever pressure group has the most influence at city hall. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 23 Feb. 2024 The ambivalence was best reflected in, of all places, the response of the National Legion of Decency, the powerful Roman Catholic pressure group that had kept Hollywood in line since 1934. Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 See All Example Sentences for pressure group

Word History

First Known Use

1924, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pressure group was in 1924

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Cite this Entry

“Pressure group.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pressure%20group. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.

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