Definition of "quango" []

• An organization or agency that is financed by a government but that acts independently of it. (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.

• "In a letter to Cabinet ministers, Mrs Thatcher's then principal private secretary Kenneth Stowe acknowledged "the term quango has no generally accepted definition"."
• "In a speech to Reform this afternoon, David Cameron argued that the growth of the so-called quango state represents “a serious accountability problem with our political system”."
• "The quango, which is responsible for more than 4,000 miles of motorway and trunk road, said the move will save money and carbon emissions and even stop light pollution."