amendment
Americannoun
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amendments
plural
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an alteration of or addition to a motion, bill, constitution, etc.
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a change made by correction, addition, or deletion.
The editors made few amendments to the manuscript.
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Horticulture. a soil-conditioning substance that promotes plant growth indirectly by improving such soil qualities as porosity, moisture retention, and pH balance.
noun
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the act of amending; correction
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an addition, alteration, or improvement to a motion, document, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of amendment
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English word from Old French word amendement. See amend, -ment
Explanation
An amendment is a change made to an original, usually a document or statement. You might propose an amendment to your environmental club's bylaws requiring that all official club documents be printed on recycled paper. Can you spot the word amend, meaning "to make better" or "to cure of faults and errors," hidden in amendment? If so, you'll grasp the notion that an amendment is something intended to improve whatever preceded it. It pops up most often in formal legal contexts, where it refers to a written change to a bill, law, contract, or the U.S. Constitution.
Vocabulary lists containing amendment
U.S. Government Lingo
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American History I
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13th Amendment (1865)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But it’s unclear that such an amendment is necessary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
The amendment provides a process for the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to declare a president unable to discharge the duties of the office.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026
The amendment, which was not moved to a vote, was signed by more than 60 MPs.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Although it was Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs who formally introduced the resolution, Wednesday marked the first time in 30 years that a House speaker has led the charge on proposing a constitutional amendment.
From Slate ● Sep. 3, 2026
On June 4, 1919, Congress passed the long-sought-after amendment.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
The 1964 amendments expanded the board’s duties to include providing “a suitable memorial in honor of the late president.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Congress in 2019 enacted amendments reiterating that the center’s mission is to serve as a center for the performing arts and as a “national memorial to President John F. Kennedy.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
But it did not clear all its stages in the Lords, with peers tabling more than 1,200 amendments.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
According to the indictment, the state Constitution provides “a means for citizens to bypass the state legislature and enact statutes and constitutional amendments directly through the initiative process.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
“You get paid to teach government. The first, second, and third amendments to the Constitution. Stuff like that. Why don’t you just dive right in?”
From "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
