Liberal Party Definition

Liberal Party
noun

(Brit)
1. A political party (derived from the declining Whigs), which from the 1860s until the early 1920s was the main party in opposition to the Tory Party. Since then it has diminished considerably in importance while undergoing a number of changes to its constitution, most notably the absorption, in 1988, of the remnants of the Social Democratic Party. In 1989, after two previous name changes, it became the Liberal Democrats.
(Austral)
2. The more conservative of the two major parties, the other being The Australian Labor Party or ALP. See also under Labour Party.

Form: The Liberal Party of Australia (in full)
3. more generally
Any political party advocating democratic reform and individual liberalism.

Etymology: 19c for the British sense, but 1940s for the Australian one.