legislation
Americannoun
-
legislations
plural
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the act of making or enacting laws.
-
a law or a body of laws enacted.
noun
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the act or process of making laws; enactment
-
the laws so made
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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; see 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.
See Examples For:
That legislation remains stalled in the House, according to Pea.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
The UK government has said it has "strengthened" the proposed legislation to ensure it includes "effective safeguards" for any veteran who is asked to provide information to the Legacy Commission or a coroner.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
The government has said it will set out further details on what information will be required and how the legislation will be enforced "in due course".
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
He was taking what he saw as a principled stand, but it failed; the Mueller legislation never passed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
The president had been reluctant to push for voting rights legislation so soon after Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman
Kishida returned to Tokyo on Saturday after a nine-day trip and apparently faced pressure from his governing party executives to make a quick decision on Terada before discussions on key legislations resume Monday.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2022
“Our draft legislations means that these companies will be punished heavily if they don’t meet that standard,” she added.
From Reuters ● Oct. 25, 2021
Women's rights activists said they hoped other European countries would follow Sweden and approve similar legislations.
From BBC ● May 24, 2018
I think it discredits those who pass these legislations, those who adopt them and those who implement them more than anything else.
From US News ● Dec. 21, 2015
The traditions and histories and legislations of the past were worked over into a connected series of writings, through which was woven the new priestly system, in a historical form.
From The Right and Wrong Uses of the Bible by R. Heber Newton
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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.
