ordinance

American  

[awr-dn-uhns] / ˈɔr dn əns /

noun

• ordinances
  plural

1. 

   an authoritative rule or law; a decree or command.

   Synonyms:

   order

2. a public injunction or regulation.

   a city ordinance against excessive horn blowing.

   Synonyms:

   order

3. something believed to have been ordained, as by a deity or destiny.

4. Ecclesiastical.

   1. an established rite or ceremony.

   2. a sacrament.

   3. the communion.

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ordinance British  

/ ˈɔːdɪnəns /

noun

1. an authoritative regulation, decree, law, or practice

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preordinance
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ordinances
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of ordinance

1275–1325; Middle English ordinaunce (< Old French ordenance ) < Medieval Latin ordinantia, derivative of Latin ordinant- (stem of ordināns ), present participle of ordināre to arrange. See ordination, -ance

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Explanation

An ordinance is a local law. Many cities have recently passed ordinances making it illegal to smoke indoors or mandatory for pet owners to curb their dogs. Ordinance can also mean the act of making someone a priest. In both senses, it means a direction or command coming down from a higher authority or an official conference. If you break an ordinance, you'll likely be fined rather than jailed. Remember that an ordinance is a rule meant to keep things in order.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ordinance ordinances

Although she does not have immediate plans to register her relationship with her second partner, she said the ordinance should account for these non-monogamous setups.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

Officials with the mayor’s office said she intends to sign the ordinance as soon as possible.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

Taylor’s intervention suggests “that Memphis voters don’t know what their best interests are,” said Martavius Jones, who was chair of the Memphis City Council when the city ordinance passed.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

The council voted unanimously on the ordinance, which halts new oil and gas drilling in the city and phases out existing production over the next 20 years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

“I tell you,” said the policeman, “honestly I don’t know what the municipal ordinance about penguins is, with or without a leash, on the public streets. I’ll ask my sergeant.”

From "Mr. Popper's Penguins" by Florence Atwater and Richard Atwater

The restaurant, already in need of updating for health ordinances and building codes, shuttered for a three-year renovation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Camarena's company uses electric tools where they're required to, in cities with ordinances banning petrol tools.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

As the ecology director at the nonprofit Climate Revolution Action Network, the 20-year-old has helped put a stop to multiple data centers across New Jersey and pushed for ordinances to ban their construction altogether.

From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026

Rules required minimum lot sizes of 5,750 square feet for single-family homes, and strict single-family zoning ordinances were criticized for creating sprawl.

From Barron's ● May 31, 2026

It was a place for marriages and sacred ordinances, not an everyday churchgoing experience.

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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