First Amendment

American  

noun

1. an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, prohibiting Congress from interfering with freedom of religion, speech, assembly, or petition.

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First Amendment ¹ Cultural  

1. The first article of the Bill of Rights. It forbids Congress from tampering with the freedoms of religion, speech, assembly, and the press.

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First Amendment ² Cultural  

1. An amendment to the United States Constitution guaranteeing the rights of free expression and action that are fundamental to democratic government. These rights include freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech. The government is empowered, however, to restrict these freedoms if expression threatens to be destructive. Argument over the extent of First Amendment freedoms has often reached the Supreme Court. (See clear and present danger, libel, and obscenity.)

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Usage

What is the First Amendment? The First Amendment is an amendment to the US Constitution that forbids Congress from making any law that discriminates against any religion or that restricts freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to assemble, or the right to protest. The Constitution of the United States is the document that serves as the  fundamental law of the country. An amendment is a change to something. An amendment to the Constitution is any text added to the original document since its ratification in 1788. The Constitution has been amended 27 times in American history. The entire text of the First Amendment reads:“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”The First Amendment has one detail that many Americans get wrong or misunderstand. This amendment only protects your freedom of speech from being restricted by the government or an organization funded by the government. Private businesses, such as Twitter, Wal-Mart, and the Walt Disney Company, can and often do restrict your speech or expression if they believe it could harm their business.

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The First Amendment begins the Bill of Rights.

Example Sentences

Someone on X, mourning the alleged demise of a TV show started in 1968, 177 years after the ratification of the First Amendment, described it as “the historical leader of the free press.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

What will change is that Americans will no longer be coerced into sacrificing their First Amendment rights.

From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026

They argued the law violated their First Amendment rights and won preliminary injunctions against its enforcement last summer.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

“Even from a very young age, I fell in love with Lady Liberty, and the idea of free speech and the First Amendment were everything for me,” Baseman said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

She said, “It’s the First Amendment that’s in trouble—the freedom of the press is in trouble.”

From "The Landry News" by Andrew Clements