legislature
Americannoun
-
legislatures
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of legislature
First recorded in 1670–80; legislat(or) + -ure
Explanation
A legislature is a governing body that makes laws and can also amend or repeal them. The word legislature comes from the Latin word for "law" — legis. In the US, each state has a legislature — made up of the elected state senators and assemblymen or women, or representatives. The US Congress is the national legislature. These bodies, whose members are often referred to as "law-makers," make up the legislative branch of government, as distinct from the executive and judicial branches.
Vocabulary lists containing legislature
U.S. Government Lingo
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Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation
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The American Revolution - Introductory
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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:
The opposition was meanwhile represented by Dinorah Figuera, leader of the political bloc that won a majority in the 2015 National Assembly, the last legislature elected in a vote widely recognized by the international community.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Forecasts projected a deficit approaching $6 billion before a newly split legislature began clawing the budget back toward sanity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Reforms introduced in 2023 prevented the legislature from expanding indefinitely, but they also removed the guarantee that every local winner would enter parliament.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026
It used to be a bicameral legislature, and it gave these upper class of states veto power over legislation.
From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026
It did not mean so much to have a father in the state legislature and a sister who was engaged to a champion skier.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
It advanced causes he favored—he notes that activists for women’s rights, armed with what he called the “weapon of propaganda,” had “made their influence felt on city councils, state legislatures, and national congresses.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Local council elections, local and combined-authority mayoral elections, devolved legislatures, European Parliament elections and London Assembly elections were excluded.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Anyone who wants to drive housing affordability, or understand where the housing market is headed, should pay attention not just to state legislatures.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
The assumption then was Congress would fix this, or the state legislatures would fix this, or initiatives in the states that have direct democracy would fix this.
From Slate ● May 7, 2026
When they lobbied their state legislatures, women found that without the vote they were ignored.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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.
