senate
Americannoun
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an assembly or council of citizens having the highest deliberative functions in a government, especially a legislative assembly of a state or nation.
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(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.
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the room or building in which such a group meets.
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Roman History. the supreme council of state, the membership and functions of which varied at different periods.
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a governing, advisory, or disciplinary body, as in certain universities.
noun
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the upper chamber of the legislatures of the US, Canada, Australia, and many other countries
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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
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the ruling body of certain free cities in medieval and modern Europe
noun
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any legislative or governing body considered to resemble a Senate
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the main governing body at some colleges and universities
Etymology
Origin of senate
1175–1225; Middle English senat < Latin senātus council of elders, equivalent to sen ( ex ) old + -ātus -ate 3
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.
It still needs senate approval to become law.
From Barron's
“We are confronting death on a scale that we haven’t seen before because of the size of the baby-boom generation,” said Sen. Jamie Pedersen, majority leader of the Washington state senate, who shepherded the legislation.
George Mitchell is a former majority leader in the US senate.
From BBC
“It’s time for a change,” my rideshare driver said as we crept through traffic, explaining why she was running for state senate.
From Los Angeles Times
The senate report was highly critical of how Zubaydah was treated, as was a 2018 report by UK Parliament's intelligence and security committee.
From BBC
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.
