(usually initial capital letter) the legislature of Great Britain, historically the assembly of the three estates, now composed of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal, forming together the House of Lords, and representatives of the counties, cities, boroughs, and universities, forming the House of Commons.
(usually initial capital letter) the legislature of certain British colonies and possessions.
a legislative body in any of various other countries.
French History. any of several high courts of justice in France before 1789.
a meeting or assembly for conference on public or national affairs.
Cards. fan-tan.
the highest legislative authority in Britain, consisting of the House of Commons, which exercises effective power, the House of Lords, and the sovereign
a similar legislature in another country
the two chambers of a Parliament
the lower chamber of a Parliament
any of the assemblies of such a body created by a general election and royal summons and dissolved before the next election
an assembly of the representatives of a political nation or people, often the supreme legislative authority
any legislative or deliberative assembly, conference, etc
Also: parlement. (in France before the Revolution) any of several high courts of justice in which royal decrees were registered
The number of nations governed by parliaments has greatly increased in modern times.
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English: “discourse, consultation, Parliament,” from Anglo-Latin parliamentum, alteration of Medieval Latin parlāmentum, from Old French parlement “a speaking, conference” ( see parle, -ment); replacing Middle English parlement, from Old French
In some countries — Great Britain for example — the group of people who make the laws is called the parliament. It's the equivalent of Congress in the United States. The most common meaning of parliament refers to a country's legislative (law-making) body. England's parliament is very famous. The word comes in part from the French verb parler, which means to speak, which makes sense since this group of people assemble to talk about laws and issues. Another meaning of parliament is the card game known as fan tan or sevens, where you lead with your sevens in a certain sequence and win by using up all your cards.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Shortly before Bessent spoke, Iran’s top negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the new U.S. measures would fail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Some pointed to reports that the driver of the BMW had the initials NSC and was born in 1961, leading to speculation that he was a former member of parliament.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
The talks have so far been led by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf who has become seen as a less hardline figure.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
In February, a helicopter crash in the Rift Valley county of Nandi killed six people, including a member of parliament.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
I can just picture the parliament room: a hundredy-some-odd Tata Ndus in pointy hats and no-glass glasses all flicking flies away with animal-tail magic wands in the sweltering heat, pretending to ignore each other.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
"I am delighted that the Speaker of the House of Commons has confirmed that this portrait of Ann Widdecombe will be on show in Parliament, following her tragic death earlier this year," Grant said.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
In the 19th century, as the result of lobbying by authors such as Charles Dickens, the British Parliament enacted the Copyright Act of 1842.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
His latest purchase, the lavish Strancally Castle, was built around 1830 for a former member of Parliament, John Keily, the Irish Times reported.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
Reform said its announcement was the first in a series of proposals aimed at reaching 600,000 apprenticeship starts per year by the end of the next Parliament, likely to be 2034.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
With artists like Prince, Fishbone, and Parliament, these had to be Dad’s old discs.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
In 1780, remarkably, Richmond proposed annual parliaments and universal male suffrage, 138 years before the latter would be achieved.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Popes rarely address parliaments, trying to avoid overt political interventions.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
McConnell, who was first minister from 2001 until 2007, told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast he "would like to see the two parliaments coming together" to investigate the embezzlement.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
The idea runs back at least to the influential 18th-century English jurist William Blackstone, who instructed that “Acts of parliament derogatory from the power of subsequent parliaments bind not.”
From Slate ● May 26, 2026
The forums were parliaments of the people, not unlike the meetings of chiefs at the Great Place that I witnessed as a boy.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
