legislation
Americannoun
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legislations
plural
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the act of making or enacting laws.
-
a law or a body of laws enacted.
noun
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the act or process of making laws; enactment
-
the laws so made
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of legislation
1645–55; < Late Latin lēgislātiōn- (stem of lēgislātiō ), equivalent to Latin phrase lēgis lātiō the bringing (i.e., proposing) of a law, equivalent to lēgis (genitive of lēx law) + lātiō a bringing; see relation
Explanation
Legislation is the act or process of making or enacting laws. Some people think there should be more legislation in the area of education and some people think there should be less — governments debate the matter periodically. The noun legislation refers to the actual law enacted by a legislative body at the national, state, or local level. There has been some very odd legislation over the years. In one state it was illegal to kiss on a train; in another, it was illegal to take a bath on Sunday. The sweeping legislation made radical changes to tax law, health care, and immigration law.
Vocabulary lists containing legislation
Election Lingo
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13th Amendment (1865)
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19th Amendment (1920)
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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:
The legislation states that donors must have been registered as in the UK by 25 March 2026 in order to avoid the cap.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Gov. George Deukmejian, a Republican, signed the wild rivers legislation and Sher’s Clean Air Act, which helped shape federal clean air legislation signed in 1990 by President George H.W.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
The earliest that new legislation targeting AI could get traction is December, when the midterms are over, according to 22V Research analyst Kim Wallace.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
Krishnan plans to introduce legislation to compel the department to assess the proposal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
A congressional delegation had traveled to Selma to investigate the mass arrests and determine if new legislation was needed to ensure voting rights.
From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman
Some want legislations to force companies to explain how they intend to close gaps - with penalties for those who fail .
From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2023
Rep. Pramila Jayapal still has the confidence of the various factions of her party, as well as the White House, to negotiate some passable legislations.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2022
Psyllou, who provides corporate registrations for clients through her own Cyprus company, Interstatus, said in a follow-up e-mail to Reuters on Thursday that her company “strictly complies with legislations and reports to relevant Regulators”.
From Reuters ● Jan. 22, 2021
I think it discredits those who pass these legislations, those who adopt them and those who implement them more than anything else.
From US News ● Dec. 21, 2015
The two legislations ought to be completely independent, and yet mutually complementary.
From Aesthetical Essays of Frederich Schiller by Friedrich Schiller
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.
