legislate
Americanverb (used without object)
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legislates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
legislated,
past participle, past
-
legislating
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
legislates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
legislated,
past participle, past
-
legislating
present participle
verb
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(intr) to make or pass laws
-
(tr) to bring into effect by legislation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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legislatesimple
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legislatessimple
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have legislatedperfect
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has legislatedperfect
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am legislatingprogressive
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are legislatingprogressive
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is legislatingprogressive
-
have been legislatingperfect progressive
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has been legislatingperfect progressive
Past
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legislatedsimple
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had legislatedperfect
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was legislatingprogressive
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were legislatingprogressive
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had been legislatingperfect progressive
Future
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
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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.
See Examples For:
"We will legislate for an independent regulation to rein these cowboys in," she said, announcing legislation for an independent watchdog of property agents.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
The distinction is especially important now as Washington begins to legislate in an atmosphere shaped by the more dramatic version of this story.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
The owners know they can’t legislate smarts into their contract, so they’re trying the next best thing — tying the hands of their own big spenders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Nicholas Bednar and Max Sarinsky, came up with a few solutions that Congress could legislate without violating Slaughter, and I do think it’s worth lifting those up.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
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
First, it legislates more than mere time, place and manner restrictions.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2023
Bonds said it’s crucial for lawmakers to get feedback from Ward-level legislators, who often hear direct feedback from their constituents, before noting that advocates often impact how the council legislates.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 20, 2022
“When Congress legislates expenditures and puts in place tax policy that determines taxes, those are the crucial decisions Congress is making,” Yellen told the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 1, 2021
This division of responsibility—Congress legislates policy goals and agencies implement them effectively—is the foundation of functional government.
From Slate ● Dec. 1, 2020
It legislates for a community like Porto Rico with reference to the situation and wants of that community—not with reference to somebody else.
From Problems of Expansion As Considered In Papers and Addresses by Whitelaw Reid
“How much of it can be legislated away? What it means in different settings? How to pull apart what are usually very gray-area cases?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
It was legislated to continue for at least three years, through 2027.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
The White House’s plan “may represent a policy opening” that “could evolve into a legislated, progressive, and secure universal system,” said Wealth Equity Lab’s Ghilarducci in the statement.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
The government has legislated that health insurers must make money.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 28, 2026
The rules of standard English are not legislated by a tribunal of lexicographers but emerge as an implicit consensus within a virtual community of writers, readers, and editors.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Britain’s efficient system of legislating should give Mr. Burnham ample running room to pursue an agenda.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
The Irish government has warned that it is considering legislating in the absence of an EU decision.
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
Californians are accustomed to legislating by the ballot and often face a list of propositions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
This week marks the eighth anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act and allowed states to begin legislating sports betting.
From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026
On Friday, the thirteenth of February 2009, at 2:15 p.m., after a long week of legislating, the Utah House of Representatives met to discuss texting and driving.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
