ordinance

American  

[awr-dn-uhns] / ˈɔr dn əns /

noun

• ordinances
  plural

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ordinances
  plural

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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

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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

See Examples For:

ordinance ordinances

Per the ordinance, a “multi-partner domestic relationship” that involves three or more people can file a statement with the city clerk to create an official record of their relationship.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

At the March meeting, when council members approved an antidiscrimination ordinance introduced by Councilmember Byers, the council also instructed city staff to work out the details of a potential multi-partner domestic registry.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

Mazariegos has said all the ordinance does is shuffle people around, and instead the focus should be on addressing addiction and mental health issues.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

Taylor, who had been in the state Senate for a few months when the city ordinance passed, said it made the public less safe by limiting the potential for police to investigate more serious crimes.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

“Laughing is against the law. Don’t you have a rule book? It’s local ordinance 574381-W.”

From "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster

Camarena's company uses electric tools where they're required to, in cities with ordinances banning petrol tools.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

But there may be another reason, too, said Jim Farrar, director of the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: State laws and local ordinances that have banned certain rodenticides could be inadvertently fueling typhoid outbreaks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

In 2020 Pennsylvania’s state legislature overrode local ordinances and expanded the definition of “pedestrian” to include robots weighing up to 550 pounds and traveling up to 12 miles an hour.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

As the ecology director at the nonprofit Climate Revolution Action Network, the 20-year-old has helped put a stop to multiple data centers across New Jersey and pushed for ordinances to ban their construction altogether.

From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026

Instead of limiting the number of animals, cities could make ordinances to keep people from hoarding chickens in living rooms.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

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