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:
The amendment was approved by the contest's governing body, following feedback from participating broadcasters after Eurovision 2026 in Vienna.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
An amendment proposed by Supervisor Holly Mitchell to take steps to ensure that the office’s work would not be redundant with that done by other county entities was accepted before the vote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 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
On the aspirational level, however, a constitutional amendment strategy may be more valuable.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Former San Diego Assemblymember Lori Saldaña, a longtime critic of the proposal, called the proposed amendments “reckless and rushed.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
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
The government said this move does not require changes to the existing legislation before October, though it may make amendments in the future to exclude certain offenders from being released.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Your friend would need to ensure that the trust’s terms and governing amendments are rock solid.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
Constitutional amendments guaranteeing African Americans “equal protection of the laws” and the right to vote proved as impotent as the Emancipation Proclamation once a white backlash against Reconstruction gained steam.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
