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• senate
  senate

  noun

  an assembly or council of citizens having the highest deliberative functions in a government, especially a legislative assembly of a state or nation.
• Senate
  Senate

  noun

  the upper chamber of the legislatures of the US, Canada, Australia, and many other countries

senate

American  

[sen-it] / ˈsɛn ɪt /

noun

• senates
  plural

1. an assembly or council of citizens having the highest deliberative functions in a government, especially a legislative assembly of a state or nation.

2. (initial capital letter) the upper house of the legislature of certain countries, as the United States, France, Italy, Canada, Ireland, Republic of South Africa, Australia, and some Latin American countries.

3. the room or building in which such a group meets.

4. Roman History. the supreme council of state, the membership and functions of which varied at different periods.

5. a governing, advisory, or disciplinary body, as in certain universities.

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Senate ¹ British  

/ ˈsɛnɪt /

noun

1. the upper chamber of the legislatures of the US, Canada, Australia, and many other countries

2. the legislative council of ancient Rome. Originally the council of the kings, the Senate became the highest legislative, judicial, and religious authority in republican Rome

3. the ruling body of certain free cities in medieval and modern Europe

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senate ² British  

/ ˈsɛnɪt /

noun

1. any legislative or governing body considered to resemble a Senate

2. the main governing body at some colleges and universities

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• senates
  plural

Etymology

Origin of senate

1175–1225; Middle English senat < Latin senātus council of elders, equivalent to sen ( ex ) old + -ātus -ate ³

Explanation

When a government is split into two houses, or assemblies, one of them — the "upper house" — is called a senate. The main job of most senates is to take a second look at legislation after it's been passed by the lower house. The idea of a senate as a legislative assembly goes back to the founding of Rome, around 750 B.C.E., with the word taken from the Latin senatus, meaning "highest council." That word, then, is thought to come from senex, meaning "old man," in this case probably meant as a form of respect for wisdom. The word later grew to include national government, and the United States took the word in 1775 to refer to the upper level of the legislature. Today, you can get elected to a senate even if you're not an old man.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

senate Senate senates

The board also dissolved the faculty senate and replaced it with an advisory council to the president, which includes two faculty members from each of the university’s colleges and additional members appointed by the president.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

The senate said it will convene a work group to meet over the next year to look at the issue.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

Justice’s senate office did not respond to questions.

From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026

In a brief statement to the press before surrendering to police at the senate premises, Estrada described the charges as part of an attempt to blackmail him.

From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026

Which, in turn, would leave her state senate seat vacant, opening up the possibility that Barack could run for it.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

He took on the favored candidate of Amodei and others in the GOP establishment, James Settelmeyer, a former minority leader of the state Senate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

Senate race, both Ken Paxton and James Talarico have been campaigning around the state, meeting voters everywhere from restaurants to music halls as they’ve pitched their political visions.

From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026

Senate majority leader John Thune scheduled a floor vote on the bill for Sept. 15.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Polls suggest Ossoff will easily win his Senate race this fall, which has stoked speculation that he may run for president in 2028.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

House and Senate leaders agreed to hold hearings the next day.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

Since news of the deal broke, he said he has met with the system chancellors, provosts, program directors and faculty senates about the acquisition.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 31, 2023

But the school’s faculty and student senates each passed resolutions calling for a change and the university’s alumni board of directors supported reassessing the team name’s appropriateness.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 10, 2021

State senates range in size from twenty members in Alaska to sixty-seven members in Minnesota.

From Textbooks ● Jul. 28, 2021

Voters are also choosing representatives in their local state senates - and in Delaware, Democratic candidate, Sarah McBride has made history as the country's first ever trans state senator.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2020

“Be bold, for number cancels bashfulness; Extremes, from which a King would blushing shrink, Unblushing senates act as no excess.”

From Calamities and Quarrels of Authors by Isaac Disraeli

Related Words

• body
• chamber
• house
• parliament