legislator
Americannoun
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a person concerned with the making or enactment of laws
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a member of a legislature
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of legislator
1595–1605; < Latin phrase lēgis lātor a law's bringer (i.e., proposer), equivalent to lēgis (genitive of lēx law) + lātor bringer ( lā ( tus ), suppletive past participle of ferre to bring + -tor -tor
Explanation
A legislator makes laws. Congress is full of legislators. You have several who represent you at both the state and national level. Don't confuse a legislator with the legislature. Whereas the latter refers to the group such as the Congress, a legislator is a member of the group. At the national level, senators and representatives are given the task of writing our laws. States sometimes have different names for their two legislative houses, but the set-up is similar. The United States may be the world's oldest democracy, but legislators have been around nearly forever — the Romans had them.
Vocabulary lists containing legislator
Commonly Confused Words, List 3
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Commonly Confused Words, List 5
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The Executive Branch: The Presidency and Vice Presidency
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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:
They are working with a state legislator on a bill that would require 40 minutes of recess in elementary school, which Talbert said they thought was more likely to pass.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
He is also set to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang and top legislator Zhao Leji.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
It also sets up what will be a closely watched contest in November's general election between Paxton and his Democratic opponent, state legislator James Talarico.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
“I think she deeply and personally understands the everyday struggles that so many Californians are grappling with right now,” said Petrie-Norris, who last month became the first state legislator to endorse Porter.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
There was once a state legislator in Wisconsin who objected to the introduction of daylight saving time despite all the good arguments for it.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
Lee co-founded the "Clinical Peptides Society" and started a petition called "Save Peptides" which has garnered nearly 10,000 signatures and urges federal legislators to loosen restrictions on peptides.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Those with elevated MAGIs will have to make minimum distributions, the legislators said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Ways that limit our equal ability to affect the actions of the president, Congress, and the courts themselves—and by those pathways, shape how executive officials, legislators, and judges read the Constitution.
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026
Dozens of legislators, staff and agency personnel have already been briefed on the latest research, and Boerner said she’s putting together a working group.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Barack drove four hours to Springfield on Monday nights and checked into a cheap hotel where a lot of the other legislators stayed, usually returning late on Thursday.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
