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

A year ago Mayor Karen Bass signed an ordinance raising the city’s minimum wage for hotel workers to $30 an hour in July 2028—timed to coincide with the L.A.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

Last fall, councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez, Adrin Nazarian and Bob Blumenfield introduced a motion to set indoor heat standards for renters in the city, mirroring an ordinance from the L.A.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

So the only reasonable charge was violating the city ordinance against disturbing “the peace of others by violent, offensive or boisterous conduct or language,” but that was tacked on later, in February.

From Slate • May 4, 2026

Then, as the weeks went on, the city added more: resisting arrest, violating a city ordinance about breaching the peace, and providing false information.

From Slate • May 4, 2026

Bitter local officials pushed through an ordinance banning automobiles from the Stanford campus and all tourist areas, effectively exiling them from the city.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand