ombudsman

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ombudsman

  • /ˈɒmbədzmən/ UK
  • /ˈɑmbədzmən/ US
  • /ʔomˈbʊds.mɐn/ Philippines
  • /ˈʔom-/ Philippines

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Swedish ombudsman (equivalent to ombud (“representative, proxy”) + man), from Old Norse umboðsmaðr.

noun ombudsmen

  1. An appointed official whose duty is to investigate complaints, generally on behalf of individuals such as consumers or taxpayers, against institutions such as companies and government departments. "All the Nordic ombudsmen have the same view: that circumcision of boys should not be done until the boy is old enough to decide himself if is something he wants to do,” Anne Lindboe, Norway's Ombudsman for Children, told DW.
  2. A designated internal mediator in an organization whose duty is to assist members with conflict resolution and other problems and to serve as an independent consultant to recommend changes to policies or procedures to improve organization effectiveness, efficiency, and humaneness.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: ombudsperson, lawyer, prosecutor, attorney, ombud, procurator, advocate, arbitrator, broker, commission, commissioner, supervisor, mediation, mediator, complainant, middleman

Translations

Every language

noun official who investigates complaints

Españolmediador, defensor del pueblo
한국어옴부즈만 ombujeuman
日本語オンブズマン onbuzuman, 苦情調査官 kujō chōsakan
中文申訴專員 /申诉专员 shēnsù zhuānyuán, 調查專員 /调查专员 diàochá zhuānyuán
हिन्दीलोकपाल lokpāl, लोकायुक्त lokāyukt
Portuguêsombudsman, ouvidor
Françaisombudsman, médiateur, protecteur
DeutschOmbudsmann
Românăombudsman
Русскийуполномо́ченный по права́м челове́ка upolnomóčennyj po pravám čelovéka, омбудсме́н ombudsmén, омбудсма́н ombudsmán
العربيةأَمِين اَلْمَظَالِم ʔamīn al-maẓālim

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MLA

"ombudsman." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ombudsman. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

ombudsman. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ombudsman

Chicago

"ombudsman." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ombudsman.

BibTeX
@misc{ombudsman_2026,
  title = {ombudsman},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ombudsman},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}