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View synonyms for ombudsman

ombudsman

[ om-buhdz-muhn, -man, -boodz-, awm-, om-boodz-muhn, -man, awm- ]

noun

, plural om·buds·men [om, -b, uh, dz-m, uh, n, -men, -b, oo, dz-, awm, -, om-, boodz, -m, uh, n, -men, awm-].
  1. a government official who hears and investigates complaints by private citizens against other officials or government agencies.
  2. a person who investigates and attempts to resolve complaints and problems, as between employees and an employer or between students and a university.


ombudsman

/ ˈɒmbʊdzmən /

noun

  1. a commissioner who acts as independent referee between individual citizens and their government or its administration
  2. (in Britain) an official, without power of sanction or mechanism of appeal, who investigates complaints of maladministration by members of the public against national or local government or its servants Formal namesCommissioner for Local AdministrationHealth Service CommissionerParliamentary Commissioner See also Financial Ombudsman
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


ombudsman

  1. An official appointed by a government or other organization to investigate complaints against people in authority. This position is designed to give those with less power — the “little people” — a voice in the operation of large organizations.


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Gender Note

See -man.
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Word History and Origins

Origin of ombudsman1

1910–15; < Swedish: legal representative, equivalent to ombud agent, attorney + -s ’s 1 + -man -man
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Word History and Origins

Origin of ombudsman1

C20: from Swedish: commissioner
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Example Sentences

Some are pushing a proposal to create an ombudsman that would investigate complaints about the department.

Vollen-Katz said one step the state could take would be to create a corrections ombudsman who could investigate complaints and find solutions.

He said he had already emailed the student ombudsman twice, and never received a reply.

DHS this week announced the appointment of a new ombudsman for immigration detention, after House Democrats demanded increased oversight and accountability.

Complaints also have declined because those who typically file complaints on behalf of nursing home residents — family members, other visitors and long-term care ombudsmen — were shut out of facilities.

An inquiry headed by the Police Ombudsman, a sort of referee figure, came down against the informer allegation.

He not only favors New Jersey's civil-unions law, but argued that it should be backed with an ombudsman to enforce it.

“If you look at the new media players, not one of them has an ombudsman,” she notes.

The Post's ombudsman rightly defended his paper's judgement.

It is impossible for a single ombudsman to end all those problems quickly.

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ombuombudsperson