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
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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 landmark 1970 legislation is credited with helping to protect the state’s environment, but it is also criticized for blocking development.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
In the immediate aftermath of the repeal of the proposed legislation, this academic postmortem, published in the monthly peer-reviewed journal Health Affairs, speculated that the MCCA’s failure was, indeed, partly due to financial reasons.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
This has been a sticking point in discussions over new children’s online safety legislation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The legislation was backed by French lawmakers in July, making it the first European country to block young people from the platforms, after concerns over the harmful effects on children's mental health.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
This legislation seemed headed for the cutting-room floor.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
That includes swearing in new members of Congress, and adopting new rules and legislations.
From BBC ● Jan. 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
“Our draft legislations means that these companies will be punished heavily if they don’t meet that standard,” she added.
From Reuters ● Oct. 25, 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.
