legislator

American  

[lej-is-ley-ter] / ˈlɛdʒ ɪsˌleɪ tər /

noun

legislators plural

1. a person who gives or makes laws.

   Synonyms:

   lawgiver, lawmaker

2. a member of a legislative body.

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legislator British  

/ ˈlɛdʒɪsˌleɪtə /

noun

1. a person concerned with the making or enactment of laws

2. a member of a legislature

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• legislatorship
  noun
• legislatress
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• legislators
  plural

Etymology

Origin of legislator

1595–1605; < Latin phrase lēgis lātor a law's bringer (i.e., proposer), equivalent to lēgis (genitive of lēx law) + lātor bringer ( lā ( tus ), suppletive past participle of ferre to bring + -tor -tor

Explanation

A legislator makes laws. Congress is full of legislators. You have several who represent you at both the state and national level. Don't confuse a legislator with the legislature. Whereas the latter refers to the group such as the Congress, a legislator is a member of the group. At the national level, senators and representatives are given the task of writing our laws. States sometimes have different names for their two legislative houses, but the set-up is similar. The United States may be the world's oldest democracy, but legislators have been around nearly forever — the Romans had them.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

legislator legislators

Douglass may not have held a role as a judge, legislator, or even enfranchised citizen, yet he nonetheless played a pivotal role in shaping the nation’s understanding of equal citizenship in the Civil War era.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

If a legislator is visiting for an inspection, they are now required to present privacy waivers for each detainee they want to speak with, which must be signed by the detainee.

From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026

He is also set to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang and top legislator Zhao Leji.

From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026

European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde warned central bank independence is at risk, requiring voter and legislator support.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

Every morning, every legislator should receive a communication about what the black man in America expects and wants and needs.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Lee co-founded the "Clinical Peptides Society" and started a petition called "Save Peptides" which has garnered nearly 10,000 signatures and urges federal legislators to loosen restrictions on peptides.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

Those with elevated MAGIs will have to make minimum distributions, the legislators said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

Ways that limit our equal ability to affect the actions of the president, Congress, and the courts themselves—and by those pathways, shape how executive officials, legislators, and judges read the Constitution.

From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026

And in my own research with Stella Rouse and Kristen Essel, we found that tea party-affiliated state legislators were more ideologically conservative in their voting records.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026

Among the legislators who took the oath of office was Jeannette Rankin of Montana, the first female member of Congress.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

Related Words

• administrator
• council member
• deputy
• lawmaker
• leader
• member
• parliamentarian
• representative
• senator