affirmative action

noun

: the use of policies, legislation, programs, and procedures to improve the educational or employment opportunities of members of certain demographic groups (such as minority groups, women, and older people) as a remedy to the effects of long-standing discrimination against such groups

Note: Affirmative action gives limited preference to qualified groups (which may include racial and ethnic minorities, women, older people, people with disabilities, and some veterans) in job hiring, admission to institutions of higher education, the awarding of government contracts, and other social benefits.

The term affirmative action was … used in an executive order issued by President Johnson in 1965, which banned all federal contractors and subcontractors, as well as unions involved in federal work, from practicing employment discrimination.—Michael L. Levine
Unlike previous measures, such as the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965, which prohibited discrimination, the goal of affirmative action was to adopt a proactive approach to redressing past discrimination. It goes beyond the prohibition of overtly racist practices by requiring employers, public contractors, and college admissions officers to cast a wider net in their searches for qualified workers and students through active recruitment of racial minorities.—Shirley J. Yee et al.

Examples of affirmative action in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web When the dean of UC Berkeley School of Law came before a subcommittee chaired by Alatorre to ask for more money, Alatorre told him the school needed to institute affirmative action first. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2024 Federalist Society lawyers flood the court with amicus briefs, including in the Harvard and UNC cases that killed affirmative action. —Michael Avery, Baltimore Sun, 6 Aug. 2024 The Supreme Court determined that affirmative action in college admissions was unlawful. —Max Thornberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 25 July 2024 However, the last year at the department has been mired by higher education woes, such as the U.S. Supreme Court effectively ending affirmative action and mounting challenges to Biden's student debt relief plans. —Arthur Jones Ii, ABC News, 23 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for affirmative action 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'affirmative action.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1961, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of affirmative action was in 1961

Dictionary Entries Near affirmative action

affirmative

affirmative action

affirmative pregnant

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Affirmative action.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affirmative%20action. Accessed 20 Aug. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

affirmative action

noun
: the use of laws, policies, and programs giving limited preference to qualified minority groups and women to improve educational and employment opportunities as a remedy to the effects of long-standing discrimination

Legal Definition

affirmative action

noun
: an active effort (as through legislation) to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups or women

More from Merriam-Webster on affirmative action

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about affirmative action

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Absent Letters That Are Heard Anyway

How to Use Accents and Diacritical Marks
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

7 Shakespearean Insults to Make Life More Interesting

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

9 Superb Owl Words
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
iykyk if you know you know slang written in a neon
Quiz: Abbreviation Station TFW you have to figure out what 15 abbreviations ...