amendment
Americannoun
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amendments
plural
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an alteration of or addition to a motion, bill, constitution, etc.
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a change made by correction, addition, or deletion.
The editors made few amendments to the manuscript.
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Horticulture. a soil-conditioning substance that promotes plant growth indirectly by improving such soil qualities as porosity, moisture retention, and pH balance.
noun
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the act of amending; correction
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an addition, alteration, or improvement to a motion, document, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of amendment
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English word from Old French word amendement. See amend, -ment
Explanation
An amendment is a change made to an original, usually a document or statement. You might propose an amendment to your environmental club's bylaws requiring that all official club documents be printed on recycled paper. Can you spot the word amend, meaning "to make better" or "to cure of faults and errors," hidden in amendment? If so, you'll grasp the notion that an amendment is something intended to improve whatever preceded it. It pops up most often in formal legal contexts, where it refers to a written change to a bill, law, contract, or the U.S. Constitution.
Vocabulary lists containing amendment
U.S. Government Lingo
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American History I
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13th Amendment (1865)
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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:
As part of its vote, the council also approved an amendment introduced by Councilmember Adrin Nazarian recommending the city attorney assess potential legal liabilities for mandating in-person training requirements.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Passing an amendment takes a two-thirds majority as a first step.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
The amendment, which was not moved to a vote, was signed by more than 60 MPs.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz introduced a similarly failed constitutional amendment for the upper congressional chamber last year.
From Slate ● Sep. 3, 2026
On May 21, 1919, the new House passed the suffrage amendment by a vote of 304 to 89, more than the required two-thirds.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
If they vote in favour it will have cleared its first major hurdle and the next stage will allow MPs to consider possible amendments at committee stage.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
The bill has been through several drafts and has been scrutinised by several Parliamentary committees and the House of Lords, which submitted 1,200 amendments.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
According to the indictment, the state Constitution provides “a means for citizens to bypass the state legislature and enact statutes and constitutional amendments directly through the initiative process.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
To tackle crime, Kast's government has proposed eight constitutional amendments.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
“You get paid to teach government. The first, second, and third amendments to the Constitution. Stuff like that. Why don’t you just dive right in?”
From "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Saenz
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.
