legislation
Americannoun
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the act of making or enacting laws.
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a law or a body of laws enacted.
noun
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the act or process of making laws; enactment
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the laws so made
Other Word Forms
- sublegislation noun
Etymology
Origin of legislation
1645–55; < Late Latin lēgislātiōn- (stem of lēgislātiō ), equivalent to Latin phrase lēgis lātiō the bringing (i.e., proposing) of a law, equivalent to lēgis (genitive of lēx law) + lātiō a bringing; relation
Explanation
Legislation is the act or process of making or enacting laws. Some people think there should be more legislation in the area of education and some people think there should be less — governments debate the matter periodically. The noun legislation refers to the actual law enacted by a legislative body at the national, state, or local level. There has been some very odd legislation over the years. In one state it was illegal to kiss on a train; in another, it was illegal to take a bath on Sunday. The sweeping legislation made radical changes to tax law, health care, and immigration law.
Vocabulary lists containing legislation
Election Lingo
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13th Amendment (1865)
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19th Amendment (1920)
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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.
The EFF instead endorses robust data privacy legislation that better informs users of what information they’re often unintentionally giving away when they agree to Big Tech’s terms and conditions.
From Salon • Apr. 16, 2026
The Yale Budget Lab says the legislation could raise $998 billion in net revenue over a decade.
From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026
LACAHSA, founded through state legislation in 2022, receives its funding from the recent voter-approved Measure A half-cent sales tax to fight homelessness and build affordable housing.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
One of the issues he identifies in the U.K. is that successive pieces of legislation have complicated data collection.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026
The Unitary Plan Tunnel had come online in 1955, funded by legislation to build state-of-the-art wind tunnels at each of the NACA’s three main laboratories.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
