legislation
Americannoun
-
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:
This has been a sticking point in discussions over new children’s online safety legislation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
After lawmakers voted through the bill last month, Lecornu referred parts of the legislation to the council - a nine-member authority that checks whether a law complies with the constitution - for review.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
The ruling "completes an exemplary democratic debate", the Elysee Palace said, adding that the legislation "provides an essential safeguard for our fellow citizens".
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
On Thursday, the legislation died in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Other women’s rights legislation followed: Wyoming women were soon given the right to sue and be sued, to serve on juries, and to enter contracts.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Kishida returned to Tokyo on Saturday after a nine-day trip and apparently faced pressure from his governing party executives to make a quick decision on Terada before discussions on key legislations resume Monday.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2022
Mr Edwards said: "Orr began to quote that the Health Regulations 2020 were only legislations and not law and that he only listened to common law."
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2021
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 Literary and Philosophical Essays: French, German and Italian by Various
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.
