spoils system
noun
: a practice of regarding public offices and their emoluments as plunder for members of the victorious party
Examples of spoils system in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The senator’s boast became a platitude and provided a label for the politics of the era: the spoils system.
—
TIME, 14 May 2024
Conflict or strife grows in lockstep with a racial or ethnic spoils system.
—Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 3 Apr. 2024
The spoils system propagated like a pernicious weed.
—TIME, 14 May 2024
Both Karzai and Ghani managed ethnic representation through a spoils system rather than the promotion of a common national vision.
—P. Michael McKinley, Foreign Affairs, 16 Aug. 2021
The Eternal City extravaganza, which is the brainchild of former Rome mayor Walter Veltroni, has been undergoing management shake-ups due to Italy’s political spoils system ever since its launch in 2006 with Nicole Kidman on the red carpet and ambitions to rival Venice.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 30 Mar. 2022
Not pushing back against this corporatist revival was an act of cowardice or (in the case of those who saw themselves as winners under corporatism’s spoils system, opportunism) that less than a decade later led to the BRT’s trashing of shareholder rights.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 30 Aug. 2021
Americans would not allow any other part of the federal civil service to become an ideological spoils system where merit matters less than political leanings or cultural grievances.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 6 Oct. 2022
The 19th-century reformers who ended the spoils system opposed removal protections.
—James Sherk, WSJ, 8 Aug. 2022
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.
TIME, 14 May 2024
Conflict or strife grows in lockstep with a racial or ethnic spoils system.
—Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 3 Apr. 2024
The spoils system propagated like a pernicious weed.
—TIME, 14 May 2024
Both Karzai and Ghani managed ethnic representation through a spoils system rather than the promotion of a common national vision.
—P. Michael McKinley, Foreign Affairs, 16 Aug. 2021
The Eternal City extravaganza, which is the brainchild of former Rome mayor Walter Veltroni, has been undergoing management shake-ups due to Italy’s political spoils system ever since its launch in 2006 with Nicole Kidman on the red carpet and ambitions to rival Venice.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 30 Mar. 2022
Not pushing back against this corporatist revival was an act of cowardice or (in the case of those who saw themselves as winners under corporatism’s spoils system, opportunism) that less than a decade later led to the BRT’s trashing of shareholder rights.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 30 Aug. 2021
Americans would not allow any other part of the federal civil service to become an ideological spoils system where merit matters less than political leanings or cultural grievances.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 6 Oct. 2022
The 19th-century reformers who ended the spoils system opposed removal protections.
—James Sherk, WSJ, 8 Aug. 2022
Dictionary Entries Near spoils system
Cite this Entry
“Spoils system.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spoils%20system. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share