amendment
Americannoun
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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.
As Ruth Bader Ginsburg noted in 2019, the last amendment was in 1992, and that was just to codify a forgotten law from 1789.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026
"No long and unwieldy constitutional amendment is necessary," he said.
From BBC • Jun. 30, 2026
Roberts walked through the congressional debates over the amendment to show that its framers recognized their handiwork would apply to the children of immigrants.
From Slate • Jun. 30, 2026
If approved by voters on the statewide ballot in November, the amendment would raise a cap on mandatory deposits into the rainy day fund from 10% to 20% of general fund revenue.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 27, 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
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.
