legislate
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
-
(intr) to make or pass laws
-
(tr) to bring into effect by legislation
Other Word Forms
- overlegislate verb
- quasi-legislated adjective
- unlegislated adjective
Etymology
Origin of legislate
First recorded in 1710–20; back formation from legislation, legislator
Explanation
To legislate is to make laws. If you thought there should be a law that all money should be pink instead of green, you might write to your congresswoman with a suggestion to legislate your idea. Formal government bodies legislate. So, while you might create a rule at home to ban phone calls at dinner, the House of Representatives would legislate communication regulations during meals. Legislate may seem like a tricky word, but you can easily remember the meaning if you notice that the word begins with the same leg as the word legal does; both words relate to the law.
Vocabulary lists containing legislate
100 SAT Words Beginning with "J," "K," and "L"
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Iroquois Constitution
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Word Generation Weekly - Series 2
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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.
And Washington, for all of its efforts to reshape the economy, can’t legislate aging away.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
Connolly emphasized that the bill does not attempt to legislate on any prison closure decisions.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2025
A spokesperson for the EU executive later stressed Europe's "sovereign right to legislate".
From Barron's • Nov. 24, 2025
Asked if she was ready to legislate, she replied, “I don’t do laws.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 25, 2025
And the failure of Prohibition would provide the nation with a powerful lesson in the pitfalls of attempting to legislate morality.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
