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• congress
  congress

  noun
• Congress
  Congress

  noun

  the bicameral federal legislature of the US, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate

congress

American  

[kong-gris, kuhn-gres, kuhng-] / ˈkɒŋ grɪs, kənˈgrɛs, kəŋ- /

noun

congresses plural

1. (initial capital letter)

   1. the national legislative body of the U.S., consisting of the Senate, or upper house, and the House of Representatives, or lower house, as a continuous institution.

   2. this body as it exists for a period of two years during which it has the same membership.

      the Ninety-Seventh Congress.

   3. a session of this body.

      to speak in Congress.

2. the national legislative body of a nation, especially of a republic.

3. a formal meeting or assembly of representatives for the discussion, arrangement, or promotion of some matter of common interest.

   Synonyms:

   convention, council, conference

4. the act of coming together; an encounter; meeting.

5. an association, especially one composed of representatives of various organizations.

6. familiar relations; dealings intercourse.

7. sexual intercourse; coitus.

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verb (used without object)

1. to assemble together; meet in congress.

Congress ¹ British  

/ ˈkɒŋɡrɛs /

noun

1. the bicameral federal legislature of the US, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate

2. this body during any two-year term

3. Also called: Congress Party.  Official name: Indian National Congress.  (in India) a major political party, which controlled the Union government from 1947 to 1977

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congress ² British  

/ ˈkɒŋɡrɛs /

noun

1. a meeting or conference, esp of representatives of a number of sovereign states

2. a national legislative assembly

3. a society or association

4. sexual intercourse

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Congress Cultural  

1. The legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Popularly elected, senators and representatives are responsible for advocating the interests of the constituents they represent. Numerous congressional committees are organized to study issues of public policy, recommend action, and, ultimately, pass laws. Congress plays an important role in the system of checks and balances; in fact, the two-house (bicameral) organization of Congress acts as an internal check, for each house must separately vote to pass a bill for it to become a law. In addition to lawmaking, Congress has a variety of functions, including appropriation of funds for executive and judicial activities; instituting taxes and regulating commerce; declaring war and raising and supporting a military; setting up federal courts and conducting impeachment proceedings; and approving presidential appointments.

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Usage

What is Congress? Congress is the federal legislative body of the United States, which is responsible for passing federal, or nationwide, laws. In the United States, Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government. Only it can create and pass federal laws. Congress is divided into two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate is commonly referred to as the “upper house” and consists of 100 members (called senators), two from each of the 50 states. The House of Representatives (often shortened to “the House”) has 435 voting members, known as representatives. The size of a state’s population determines how many representatives that state gets. All members of Congress are elected by the citizens of the state they represent. Congress has many powers, such as to introduce new taxes, to admit new states to the United States, and to declare war. Most of Congress’s work is creating and passing federal laws. Because all US federal laws are created by it, Congress plays a huge role in Americans’ lives, even if most Americans don’t pay close attention to Congress’s daily activities.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pre-Congress
  noun
• Congressional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• congresses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of congress

First recorded in 1350–1400 for earlier sense “body of attendants, following”; Middle English, from Latin congressus “assembly, intercourse, meeting,” equivalent to congred(ī) “to approach, meet” ( con- “with, together” + -gredī, combining form of gradī “to step”) + -tus suffix of verbal action; see con-; cf. grade

Explanation

A congress is a formal meeting where people come together to discuss issues or questions. It often refers to the legislative branch of a nation's government, such as the US Congress, but it can also refer to any important meeting or official organization. While the word congress inevitably brings to mind the governing Congress with a capital C, there are many different kinds of congresses. The potato farming community, for example, convened the first World Potato Congress in 1993, and the United States Bowling Congress formed in 1995 when the men's and women's bowling organizations joined forces. Congress comes from the Latin congressus, which fittingly means both "friendly meeting" and "hostile encounter."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

congress Congress congresses

Infantino is expected to be re-elected for a fourth term at Fifa's March congress, although Tebas believes Infantino could have been brought down as a consequence of his involvement in the case around Balogun.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

With little support in congress, he faces headwinds to cutting ministries and shedding state jobs, as well as his plans to build mega-prisons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Orbán stepped down as an MP last month, pledging to rebuild his party, and his future as Fidesz party chairman will be decided in June at a party congress.

From BBC ● May 29, 2026

The flurry of missile launches began soon after the Workers' Party congress in February, a once-in-five-years event that directs state efforts.

From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026

Death stalked the congress in the form of influenza.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

By formally asking Congress to direct Amtrak to make the change, however, the administration has transformed what once appeared to be political chatter into an official transportation proposal.

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026

Attempts to get Ellison to testify in Congress have fallen short.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

During his two days of testimony to Congress earlier this month, Warsh was “cryptic at best” in terms of his views on interest-rate policy and inflation, said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026

Congress, the American people, or any of your allies.

From Slate ● Jul. 25, 2026

During the debates, Congress removes a passage in Thomas Jefferson’s draft that condemns the slave trade.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

Then came Resolution 68, passed on 4 May last year at a meeting of the politburo, the highest decision-making body between party congresses.

From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2026

It spans congresses and authors of both parties.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2023

"This has been normal procedure used in the hosting of successive IFJ congresses over decades," it wrote in a statement shared with Reuters.

From Reuters ● Jan. 31, 2023

Future congresses can also override which committee has control of the documents or halt an expedited timeline for disclosure set by the panel, Stern said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2022

The ANC joined with the other congresses and SACTU, the South African Congress of Trade Unions, to call a three-day strike during the elections in April.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela