Definition of "meritocracy" []

• A system in which advancement is based on individual ability or achievement. (noun)
• A group of leaders or officeholders selected on the basis of individual ability or achievement. (noun)
• Leadership by such a group. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Firstly, the term meritocracy has been redefined since it was originally conceived, and is now taken to be a positive term."
• "My late father, the sociologist Michael Young, coined the word "meritocracy" - but as a term of opprobrium rather than approval."
• "An attempt at a meritocracy is a step forward from wholesale exclusion based on race and culture."