the opposition | meaning of the opposition in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe oppositionthe oppositionPPGin some countries such as Britain, the main political party in Parliament that is not part of the government  the leader of the Opposition  the three main opposition parties → oppositionExamples from the Corpusopposition parties• On May 15,16 leading opposition parties rejected the proposals.• By Christmas all three main opposition parties had dissolved themselves.• Analysts say opposition parties still may question the legitimacy of the midterm elections.• Several opposition parties interpreted Mr Gonzalez's attitude as defiance of public opinion.• It had now been over a year since the opposition parties had resigned from parliament en masse in protest.• The opposition parties have brought proceedings in the Diet to a standstill.• Nine Cabinet places were assigned to opposition parties.• The draft was due to be discussed with opposition parties in September with a view to securing a parliamentary majority.