ordinance

American  

[awr-dn-uhns] / ˈɔr dn əns /

noun

1. an authoritative rule or law; a decree or command.

   Synonyms:

   order

2. a public injunction or regulation.

   a city ordinance against excessive horn blowing.

   Synonyms:

   order

3. something believed to have been ordained, as by a deity or destiny.

4. Ecclesiastical.

   1. an established rite or ceremony.

   2. a sacrament.

   3. the communion.

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ordinance British  

/ ˈɔːdɪnəns /

noun

1. an authoritative regulation, decree, law, or practice

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preordinance
  noun

Etymology

Origin of ordinance

1275–1325; Middle English ordinaunce (< Old French ordenance ) < Medieval Latin ordinantia, derivative of Latin ordinant- (stem of ordināns ), present participle of ordināre to arrange. See ordination, -ance

Explanation

An ordinance is a local law. Many cities have recently passed ordinances making it illegal to smoke indoors or mandatory for pet owners to curb their dogs. Ordinance can also mean the act of making someone a priest. In both senses, it means a direction or command coming down from a higher authority or an official conference. If you break an ordinance, you'll likely be fined rather than jailed. Remember that an ordinance is a rule meant to keep things in order.

Example Sentences

The ordinance included language that excludes equestrian events, as well as American Indian, Native American, Indigenous Rodeo, Mexican Charreria and Escaramuza events that don’t involve the activities cited in the law.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

On Tuesday, rodeo lovers and animal welfare advocates descended on downtown Los Angeles to argue for and against a draft ordinance that would ban the hooved spectacles within the city.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

Last year, the city council passed a union-backed ordinance that would have lifted the minimum wage for hotel workers to $30 an hour by 2028, though the increase has since been delayed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

But Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, the chair of the Arts, Parks, Libraries, and Community Enrichment Committee — which oversees rodeos — has yet to introduce the ordinance.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

It deployed smoke inspectors to enforce a new antismoke ordinance.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson