bicameral

[ bahy-kam-er-uhl ]

/ baɪˈkæm ər əl /

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adjective Government.

having two branches, chambers, or houses, as a legislative body.

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Origin of bicameral

First recorded in 1825–35; bi-¹ + Latin camer(a) “vault, arched roof” + -al¹.See chamber

OTHER WORDS FROM bicameral

bi·cam·er·al·ism, nounbi·cam·er·al·ist, noun

Words nearby bicameral

bibliotherapy, bibliotics, Biblist, bib overalls, bibulous, bicameral, bicameral legislature, bicapsular, bicarb, bicarbonate, bicarbonate of soda

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bicameral in a sentence

Almost immediately afterward, lawmakers began calling for the creation of an independent bicameral commission to investigate the Capitol attack.
How Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney Turned the Jan. 6 Hearings Into Must-See TV|Eric Cortellessa|July 20, 2022|Time
Klobuchar is a co-sponsor of the Open App Markets Act, a bipartisan, bicameral bill that would do most of what Epic Games wanted.
How much control should Apple have over your iPhone?|Sara Morrison|December 8, 2021|Vox
Though that plan was the product of bipartisan negotiation and had bipartisan, bicameral support, GOP opponents were already attacking it as partisan before blocking it for good on Friday.
A bipartisan January 6 commission is probably dead. Democrats have a backup plan.|Cameron Peters|May 29, 2021|Vox
On his return to Japan, Onoda was feted, and briefly tipped to run for the Diet, the Japanese bicameral parliament.
The Week in Death: The Last to Surrender|The Telegraph|January 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

All too often, the march of folly has been bicameral, as well as bipartisan.
John McCain’s Middle East War Drumbeat: Iraq, Libya, and Now Syria|Lloyd Green|June 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But the non-Nebraska states have bicameral legislatures for no real reason.
Why Doesn't Every State Have a Unicameral?|Justin Green|April 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
At the national level, we have a bicameral legislature because of the overall workings of the federal system.
Why Doesn't Every State Have a Unicameral?|Justin Green|April 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It is a bicameral legislature composed of an upper house, the Senate, and a lower house, the House of Delegates.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia|Dorothy M. Torpey
The importance of the bicameral system is strongly insisted upon by the commentator of the Constitution.
Japan|Various
In structure it represents a curious cross between the principles of unicameral and bicameral organization.
The Governments of Europe|Frederic Austin Ogg
The legislative branch in North Dakota consists of a bicameral legislature which meets in January each odd-numbered year.
North Dakota|Various
The two houses of Parliament had made the colonists accustomed to the bicameral system.
The Colonies 1492-1750|Reuben Gold Thwaites

British Dictionary definitions for bicameral

bicameral

/ (baɪˈkæmərəl) /

adjective

(of a legislature) consisting of two chambers

Derived forms of bicameral

bicameralism, nounbicameralist, noun

Word Origin for bicameral

C19: from bi- 1 + Latin camera chamber

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

bicameral

COMPARE MEANINGS

Origin of bicameral

OTHER WORDS FROM bicameral

Words nearby bicameral

Words related to bicameral

How to use bicameral in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bicameral

Derived forms of bicameral

Word Origin for bicameral