0 the act of giving advantage to those groups in society that are often treated unfairly, usually because of their race, sex, or sexuality
1 the practice of giving unfair preference to people from groups such as African-Americans or women who were treated unfairly in the past so that someone else is at a disadvantage
2 the usually illegal practice of giving an advantage in education, employment, etc. to members of groups who have traditionally been treated unfairly, for example because of their race or sex, which puts other groups at a disadvantage :
The administration hasn't used quotas or practiced reverse discrimination, the mayor said.
