om·buds·man

[om-buhdz-muhn, -man, -boodz-, awm-, om-boodz-muhn, -man, awm-]
noun, plural om·buds·men [-muhn, -men] .
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.

Origin:
1910–15; < Swedish: legal representative, equivalent to ombud agent, attorney + -s ’s1 + -man -man


See -man.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
ombudsman (ˈɒmbʊdzmən) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n , pl -men
1.  a commissioner who acts as independent referee between individual citizens and their government or its administration
2.  See also Financial Ombudsman Commissioner for Local Administration, Health Service Commissioner, Formal names: Parliamentary Commissioner (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
 
[C20: from Swedish: commissioner]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10
Ombudsman is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

ombudsman
1959, from Swed. ombudsman, lit. "commission man" (specifically, in ref. to the office of justitieombudsmannen, which hears and investigates complaints by individuals against abuses of the state); cognate with O.N. umboðsmaðr, from umboð "commission" (from um- "around" + boð "command")
+ maðr "man."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
ombudsman [(om-buhdz-muhn, om-boodz-muhn)]

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.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
Rather than hide the situation, go see the ombudsman and ask for advice.
Undercover police have been sent to deter abuses by their colleagues, and an
  ombudsman will investigate complaints.
There is no ombudsman here, so the government controls the media directly.
The ombudsman criticised the city for its poor supervision.
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