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House of Representatives

American  

noun

  1. the lower legislative branch in many national and state bicameral governing bodies, as in the United States, Mexico, and Japan. H.R., HR

House of Representatives British  

noun

  1. (in the US) the lower chamber of Congress

  2. (in Australia) the lower chamber of Parliament

  3. the sole chamber of New Zealand's Parliament: formerly the lower chamber

  4. (in the US) the lower chamber in many state legislatures

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
House of Representatives Cultural  

  1. The lower house of the United States Congress. With 435 popularly elected officials, the House (as it is often called) is the most representative body in the federal government. House seats are apportioned (see apportionment) relative to each state's population. Because of its larger size, the House tends to maintain a closer link to local constituent concerns than the Senate, though both houses of Congress participate in virtually all aspects of legislation and policymaking. The Speaker of the House is one of the most influential officials in Washington, D.C., and is second in succession to the presidency, after the vice president.

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.

The bill has yet to be approved by the US House of Representatives, which is out of session.

From BBC

The House of Representatives was out of session as the deadline expired and is not scheduled to return until Monday.

From Barron's

The arrangement still has to pass the Senate, while the House of Representatives is scheduled to reconvene Monday.

From MarketWatch

House of Representatives previously voted to strip Graham’s controversial Arctic Frost provision from the package, which would have allowed senators to sue the Justice Department if their phone records are seized without their knowledge.

From Salon

Any fix, however, would still have to be approved by the House of Representatives -- which is not due back from recess until Monday -- making at least a weekend gap in funding inevitable.

From Barron's

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.