First Known Use: 1959
Dictionary
ombudsman
noun om·buds·man \ˈäm-ˌbu̇dz-mən, ˈȯm-, -bədz-, -ˌman; äm-ˈbu̇dz-, ȯm-\
: a person (such as a government official or an employee) who investigates complaints and tries to deal with problems fairly
plural om·buds·men\-mən\
Full Definition of OMBUDSMAN
1
: a government official (as in Sweden or New Zealand) appointed to receive and investigate complaints made by individuals against abuses or capricious acts of public officials
2
: one that investigates, reports on, and helps settle complaints
— om·buds·man·ship \-ˌship\ noun
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Origin of OMBUDSMAN
Swedish, literally, representative, from Old Norse umbothsmathr, from umboth commission + mathr man
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Rhymes with OMBUDSMAN
advance man, Alcoran, also-ran, Ameslan, anchorman, as one man, astrakhan, Astrakhan, ataman, Athelstan, attackman, balmacaan, Bantustan, bartizan, black-and-tan, bogeyman, boogeyman, businessman, Caliban, cameraman, caravan, cattleman, Civitan, cornerman, counterman, counterplan, countryman, courtesan, cutoff man, dairyman, defenseman, detail man, everyman, exciseman, expressman, family man, fancy-dan, fancy man, frying pan, funnyman, gamelan, garageman, garbageman, Hamadan, handyman, harmattan, hatchet man, Hindustan, hotelman, in the can, Isle of Man, jerrican, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, leading man, man-for-man, man-to-man, master plan, middleman, minivan, minuteman, Monaghan, moneyman, mountain man, muscleman, Occitan, Omdurman, overman, Pakistan, Parmesan, partisan, pattypan, Peking man, Peter Pan, pivotman, plainclothesman, Port Sudan, Powhatan, rather than, repairman, rewrite man, safetyman, sandwich man, selectman, serviceman, signalman, spick-and-span, superman, tallyman, tamarin, to a man, triggerman, trimaran, turbofan, Turkistan, vacuum pan, weatherman, workingman, yataghan
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