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

Retired now, Vernon was at the forefront of the civil rights movement. —Joe Otterson, Variety, 29 Oct. 2024

The crowd that cheered Trump’s un-American vision of America showed that this cruel turn toward a desire to crush civil rights is here to stay, whether as rule of law or lurking just beneath the surface. —Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2024

Domingo recently wrapped production on Rustin, a biopic about civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, for Netflix and Higher Ground that landed him with his first Oscar nomination. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Oct. 2024

In the first federal trial, Hankison was charged with violating Walker's civil rights, in addition to Taylor and her neighbors. —Rachel Smith, The Courier-Journal, 28 Oct. 2024

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