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:
Under the constitutional amendment which made his presidency possible, the new president will likely only be in place until the new constitution comes into force - or for maximum of five years.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The amendment reads in part, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
In many ways, “Becoming George” serves as a thoroughgoing and persuasive amendment to the incomplete legacy that has tailed Sand for so long.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
In Florida, a constitutional amendment would pave the way to ending many property-tax bills for full-time residents.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony refused to support the amendment.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
The bill states that “nothing in this title or the amendments made by this title shall be construed to override, modify, or amend the applicability of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Your friend would need to ensure that the trust’s terms and governing amendments are rock solid.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
At time of writing the legislation is still sitting in the Commons, with no sight of the government's amendments on proposed protections for veterans or how it will command confidence of victims and survivors.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
When pro-voting-rights groups lobby Congress, they reinforce a broad understanding of the 14th and 15th amendments.
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026
The president cannot force the passage of constitutional amendments, which must be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and ratified by three-quarters of the state legislatures.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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.
